Princess of Tennis: National Arc
by AquaJet
Summary: Sequel to "Princess of Tennis". Sakuno is back with the rest of the girl regular gang. See how their progress in their relationships and their national tournament goes. RyoSaku & other pairings
1. The Whole Gang Back Again!

**A/N: Ah, I love writing about these guys. For those of you who are new, there is a sequel to this story called "Princess of Tennis." You don't need to read the sequel but it would be more helpful to you, the reader, if you did. Hope you like this chap! ^ ^**

**Note: For those of you who don't know, this fic takes place in high school. I thought it would be better because usually in high school that's where romance, dating, and insecurities happen the most in a person's lifetime.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own POT**

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Sweat was pouring down off of Sakuno's face. She had been training long and hard yet it still wasn't good enough. Luckily, she got over her clumsiness and gained some skills in tennis due to her practice and training everyday. Yet it still wasn't enough because she couldn't beat her upperclassman and she still has no real sense of direction – a curse that can't be cured.

"Sakuno-chan, you should take a break. Overworking yourself and then pulling a muscle before nationals is not an option. Your training would also be a waste." The captain of the girls' tennis team, Momoko Katou, said. Katou had long dark black hair, mature blue eyes, and lightly tanned skin. She looked like a pretty boy when wearing guys' clothes but is naturally a beauty despite her tomboyish behavior.

"Ah I'm sorry. I'll take a break." Sakuno then sat on the benches and drank some water for her break.

Sakuno was then glomped on by another regular, Nakashima Yumi. "Sakuno-chan, how's it going? Don't overwork yourself!" She exclaimed, still not letting Sakuno get her air. Yumi had long light yellow hair (she dyed her hair), light brown eyes, and pale skin. Yumi was a very hyperactive girl with a love of cats. She is the cutest girl out of all the other members.

"Y-Yu-chan, you'll kill her!" Yumi's younger sister, Nakashima Airi, tried to pull Yumi off of Sakuno. Yumi pouted and mumbled something about need a new glomp post. Airi had dark brown hair, dark green eyes, and pale skin. She is a regular. She's naturally pretty and loves al sorts of animals. She has a caring yet more mature personality compared to her sister.

"Yumi, you should stop being so god damn annoying. Seriously, I thought my ear drums broke." Yamada Natsume smacked Yumi on the back of the head. Yumi fell down and felt like she was half-dead. Natsume had crimson red hair, golden yellow eyes, and slightly tanned skin. She was also a regular and an ex-Yankee. Yes, she was dangerous but she has a kind heart too just given in an unsuspecting way kind of like a blessing in disguise.

"And you should keep quiet yourself, hypocrite."Kumiko Usio was sketching in her notebook as she stated the worlds calmly. She is very beautiful with her wavy light blue hair, violet eyes, and very pale skin. She was another regular on the team. She is the most beautiful and has the biggest fan club out of the others but lacks showing her real emotions. She is also called the ice princess for her cold yet emotionless image.

"What did you say!? Just 'cause you have a pretty face, doesn't mean I'll let you off easy." Natsume's face was angry and ready to punch Usio until another person broke in.

"No, fighting. We need each and every regular in tip-top shape." Fujimoto Emi said in a sing-song voice. Emi had lemon yellow hair, hazel eyes, and pale skin. She was vice-captain of the team. She was also second cutest to Yumi. This girl had a happy-go-lucky personality but always seemed to be normal despite her love of books.

Two more members went into the courts and saw the 'fun' happening. One smirked while the other had a more worried expression plastered on her face. They both walked towards the rest of the regulars and greeted them. Katou was the first to talk back.

"Hey Sakamoto, Amane, where were you two?" She asked.

The two girls were Miharu Sakamoto and Miharu Amane. The two were cousins yet they didn't look a lot alike. Sakamoto had dark brown hair, yellow eyes, and pale skin. Amane also had brown hair and pale skin but her eyes were pitched black. Sakamoto looked like a rich business woman while Amane looked like a house wife.

"I had to finish my…special drink for the rest of you. It's called white wine 2.0 and a couple of people have to drink it." Sakamoto business smiled. She was a genius and inventor yet that does not make up for her experi**mental** food or beverages that she makes the regulars eat or drink just for testing results.

"What do you mean?" Katou started to sweat.

"Well, we made a deal, ne? Some of the girls had to confess to the guy they liked but sadly didn't. The punishment was to drink my…special wine." Sakamoto's business smile grew happier.

"B-But that's not fair. Emi, Amane, Yumi, and you don't have to take it because all of you are already dating!" Katou accused.

Emi is Fuji's girlfriend, Yumi is Eiji's, Amane is Oishi's, and Sakamoto is Inui's. That left Katou, Usio, Airi, Natsume, and Sakuno without a boyfriend. So a challenge was made. Each girl had to confess to the person they like or love. If they didn't confess at all, they would receive punishment courtesy of Sakamoto, the evil genius.

"Actually the only two people who confessed were Airi and Natsume so they are safe which means Katou, Sakuno-chan, and Usio have to try my new drink." Sakamoto held up a wine bottle filled with a white substance that was foaming out of the bottle. Katou, Sakuno, and Usio shivered in fear. They did not want to drink it. Sakamoto's last drink, a special orange juice, made them have stomach cramps for days. They weren't going to risk drinking something like that ever again.

"I'm captain and I uh can't drink anything right now because…I'm PMSing." Katou declared without the slightest bit of embarrassment. She was more scared of the drink than declaring something private.

"Uh, yeah m-me too." Sakuno followed Katou's example and hoped that she wouldn't drink the wine even if she was a bit embarrassed to say it.

"I have to go to the art club and contribute my drawings." Usio tried to escape but Yumi glomped her and dragged her back to Sakamoto. Katou was tied up and Sakuno couldn't resist because of her non-existent aggressive nature.

Sakamoto made each girl drink the horrible…err…special wine by different methods. Sakamoto handed Katou a piece of chocolate, Sakuno was given a strawberry, and Usio was given a hamburger. "I'm sorry. I was too harsh on punishment. Eat these as my apology." Sakamoto smiled.

Katou was a bit weary and Usio was suspicious. "Did you make these?" Katou questioned.

"I can't make strawberries, chocolate, or hamburgers. I personally hate them but I do know each of you love these things so I decided to give it to you." Sakamoto smiled again. This time it looked more devious. Katou wasn't sure but she couldn't resist the temptation of chocolate. Usio recently loved hamburgers and Sakuno absolutely loved strawberries. They all ate their gift from Sakamoto and then they felt that same sensation they get whenever they drank Sakamoto's…special drinks.

"I knew it!" Katou yelled as she rushed towards the water fountain in hopes of washing the taste away. Sakuno and Usio followed. They didn't want the taste to linger in their mouths since they hate Sakamoto's _experimental_ drinks.

The other girls shuddered. They already know the taste of the original drink: Sakamoto's special orange juice. They do not know the taste of Sakamoto's white wine 2.0 and if it's worse than the first drink then they do not want to try it **ever**.

"Well, let's get back to practice. Nationals are coming soon, ne?" Sakamoto smiled. The girls broke out in cold sweat but nodded and continued their practice.

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After practice was over, the girls finally decided to head home. Emi, Sakuno, Natsume, Sakamoto, and Katou would be the ones waiting for their special someone. The five girls walked to the guys' tennis courts together. The other four girls went home for various reasons. Amane and Airi had to cook for their families. Usio had to drown the horrible taste of Sakamoto's white wine with real burgers. Yumi just wanted to go home and eat.

The boys' practice ended somewhat later than the girls'. They had to practice twice as hard since they did bring home more trophies than the girls did. Katou tried to fix that when she became captain but the team still didn't have enough medals to be better than the boys'.

Sakuno would be waiting for Ryoma. Over the years, they had become friends. Katou was also Tezuka Kunimitsu's, the current captain of Seigaku High's boys' tennis team, best friend. Natsume had to get her answer from Kawamura since she did confess to him but didn't get an answer. Sakamoto and Emi just wanted to walk with their boyfriends.

As soon as Tezuka saw Katou, he got distracted but only for a second. Tezuka then concentrated back on his match with Katou silently watching and cheering in her own way. Sakuno would be doing the same thing for Ryoma – silently cheering and all.

Natsume was just waiting for Kawamura. She had been preparing herself for his answer. She remembered confessing to him at his sushi shop. It was a faithful day of bashing heads. She got to be her Yankee self for a while. Kawamura had to take it easy for a while due to his head injury. Natsume felt guilty about it. She had confessed to him when she saved his life. She recently discovered that she liked him though she was pretty dense about it.

Sakamoto fell in love with her best friend, Inui Sadahari. She had a thing for him and she semi-confessed and there were some…complications but they are now together. Emi was Fuji's classmate. They didn't really talk much except for the tennis match they had in the beginning of the year. Emi fell head over heels for Fuji because of his amazing pretty boy charms and even when she found out that he was a sadist, she still wanted to be with him. She confessed and now they are a couple.

Emi was now looking at Fuji's matches with Katou right beside her. Emi heard lots of rumors floating around about how she bribed Fuji into dating her and how she wasn't good enough for him. She hated gossip and rumors. Katou could see Emi's sad face and decided to ask about it.

"Is there something wrong, Ems?" Katou asked. Emi sighed. She didn't like lying to Katou and it was easy to talk to her.

"The rumors are getting to me. I feel as though I might not be good enough for Fuji-san even though I did ask him out and he said yes." Emi frowned.

"Jealousy, they're all just jealous. Especially Fuji's fan girls, they always mistake their admiration for false love and fantasize about 'owning' Fuji. Of course they would hate you because you are messing with their fantasy. Truthfully, they should get over it and you should too." Katou replied.

"But…maybe what they're saying is right. Not about the bribery but about me not being suited for Fuji-san."

"Ems, they don't personally hate you. They automatically will hate the people who take their 'toy'. Like a child, they will throw tantrums and say horrible things when they don't really mean it and besides, who the heck cares what fan girls think?"

"Huh? But…"

"Their opinions never matter as long as you yourself think that you are enough for Fuji then you are. Plus those girls will always say things that aren't true just to demote you and make them selves feel better."

"Katou…you sometimes say the deepest things. Have fan girls ever harassed you?"

"Of course, I already know the dark side of fan girls. That is expected because I'm friends with the Tezuka Kunimitsu but I never regretted being his friend." Katou smiled as she glanced in Tezuka's direction.

"But…I'm not as strong as you are."

"I'm not strong. I just think differently."

"You're right and I should think differently too." Emi smiled and started to feel better about her self after that talk.

Sakuno was nearby, listening to the conversation. She could relate a lot to Emi and Katou. She is good friends with THE Echizen Ryoma. She would've been attacked by fan girls if it wasn't for Tomoka barking at them and her seniors blackmailing the president (Sakamoto is currently blackmailing all of the presidents of certain fan clubs, mainly the tennis ones for specific reasons) though Sakuno would still receive hate mail but nothing too big.

"Ne, Ryuzaki, why are you spacing out?" Ryoma asked in a bored tone. Practice had just ended while Sakuno was daydreaming for a bit. Sakuno broke out of her short trance and replied.

"Oh, nothing!" She said quickly.

Ryoma just shrugged it off. He began to think that Sakuno was pretty normal compared to his fan girls. Recently they have become more aggressive. He had been missing a pair of gym shorts…

"Ne, Ryuzaki, didn't you need to tell me something?" He asked.

"Eh?"

"You said you wanted to say something to me when I found you at the park."

"Oh…i-i-it's nothing! I'll tell you after I win the nationals."

Sakuno made a promise. She promised that she would confess to Ryoma when she won the nationals because she believed that she would be a better and stronger person by then.

"Tell me now. What's the point in waiting that long? Besides, you wouldn't win with your wobbly hips." Ryoma smirked. Sakuno blushed.

"Mou! I'm going to win and bring back a huge trophy and then pour ponta in it!" Sakuno declared.

"Ponta? Why?" Ryoma was puzzled about that random thing that Sakuno would do.

"It will have grape flavored ponta in it and I'll drink from my trophy in front of you and then uh…you'll bow down to me." Sakuno was just making some of it up since she was slightly mad at Ryoma for calling her wobbly hips.

"Oh? Like that would happen." Ryoma smirked again.

"Yes it will. Mou, I'm going home." Sakuno pouted and began walking away.

Sakuno then felt something drop on her head – a cap. It was Ryoma's white Fila cap. Ryoma then walked ahead of her and turned back to her for a brief moment. "You'd get lost if I don't take you home." Ryoma proceeded to walk ahead. Sakuno pouted cutely but still followed. But she had positive thoughts about it.

'_My prince…'_

She smiled through the whole walk.

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**A/N: I'm going to take this fic slower so the update date will be random ranging from one day to a week. But I'll try to make it longer than I usually do. Please leave a review. ^ ^**


	2. Just a Day in Practice

**A/N: Hope you like this chap! ^ ^**

**Warning: OOCness and some cussing…you have been warned!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own POT**

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It was just another day of practice. Sakuno was training more than usual. She noticed that her stamina, power, and accuracy have increased. Maybe Sakamoto's drink really does work after all she did feel different. Katou announced a secret meeting to regulars. It was probably going to be another sleepover.

"Hey, guys, this time we're going to the mall. Don't start getting any funny ideas…Yumi." Katou stared at Yumi.

"Oh just because I got 3 people arrested that one time…and broke that expensive thing that other time…and stole that antique…and let those animals loose…okay I did a lot of dumb things." Yumi pouted.

"Anyway, we'll be headed to the mall tomorrow now let's practice." Katou dismissed the regulars.

"Wait! Katou don't we have to do special training menu now?" Emi asked.

"Oh yeah, Sakamoto changed the menu again. Everyone, run 10 laps as a warm-up then stretch because you're going to run again." Katou ordered. The other girls proceeded to do what Katou said.

"Hey Emi, did you set up the water table?"

"No, I did set up the table but the water cups were already there."

"You don't think…?" Katou was suspicious. She thought that maybe Sakamoto had put her strange drinks in again and was planning to let the regular try it as another one of her freaky quests to collect 'interesting' data.

"No, if Sakamoto did do it then it would be orange juice but the water inside the cups is clear. I even drank some to make sure."

"Alright but I've got a feeling something is going to happen."

"Yeah, I know." Emi agreed. Katou and Emi then began to do some quick stretches before running with the other regulars. Unfortunately, they didn't know that Sakamoto did switch the water cups into her new Experi-mix Clear Juice. They were going to find out soon enough anyway.

Each of the regulars past by the table but didn't take any drinks until the eighth lap. Emi was the first then Katou, Yumi, Amane, Sakuno, Sakamoto, Natsume, Airi, and finally Usio. They each drank a single cup and went on. Nothing tasted wrong but the drink did taste a bit off. Other than that, to them, it was just plain water. Sakamoto was the only one who didn't drink any because she already knew the side-effects and what was going to happen.

Sakamoto then stopped running and tripped. Katou was nearby and she stopped to check up on Sakamoto. "Sakamoto, are you alright?" She asked. She also helped Sakamoto up.

"I don't feel so good…can I leave early." Sakamoto looked pale. She then leaned on Katou for support.

"…Alright but when you get better, you're working twice as hard, alright?" Katou debated on what would happen if she let Sakamoto leave. Last time Sakamoto did mess up practice with her juice and left before anyone got to her but Katou dismissed Sakamoto anyway. Sakamoto nodded and then staggered around the corner.

She stood up straight when she was out of sight and then searched her pockets for her cameras. She took out her new invention cam-o-sticker. It was a camera inserted into a sticker. The sticker also works like a chameleon so whatever surface it sticks on to, it will blend into it. Sakamoto smirked.

"Let the fun begin." She walked away while holding out her slim flat-screen laptop. She was testing to see if the cam-o-sticker was functioning properly. If it didn't work then she would have to record it herself but that would be too risky because she knows her friends will try to hunt her down once they realize she did it and Sakamoto was too smart for that. She was a genius after all.

"It's working. I'll just adjust this and I have a movie." Sakamoto business smiled as she made her adjustments. Oh how she loved messing with the regulars.

Meanwhile, the girls, completely unaware of what Sakamoto did, were slowly gaining the effects of the juice. The one who started to gain the effect first was Emi since she was the first person who drank it and she drank it twice. The girls were in the middle of stretches when Emi suddenly said something random.

"The world sucks." Emi said. Everyone looked at her like she was crazy. Emi wasn't the one who burst out random things. No, that was what Yumi was known for. Katou was the one who was worried the most so she asked Emi about how she was feeling.

"Uh, Ems, are you alright?" Katou looked at her friend with a concerned face.

"My best friend calls me Ems when it's Emi. My other best friend is freakin genius who invents things to torment us when she could dominate the world instead. And my boyfriend is a freakin sadist. He loves to torment me. I'm just freakin perfect." Emi obnoxiously stated.

The girls' mouths just dropped. Was Emi crazy? What was wrong with her? Emi was not known for being obnoxious and sarcastic. She was more of the kind of girl who was normal looking. Some of the girls suspected that she was PMSing. Others thought that she might not be feeling well or she was having a bad day. It was then silent.

"Why the hell is everyone so god damn quiet all of a sudden?" Emi asked, annoyed.

"Maybe because the world sucks like you said." Katou said miserably.

"Well whoop-de-freakin-do, what the hell is wrong with you?" Emi asked, pissed now.

"I just feel so depressed…maybe I should just kill myself. I'm so pitiful, you know, falling hard for my best friend." Katou sighed.

"That's your own damn fault." Emi just laid herself flat on the floor to relax.

The girls were getting a bit scared now. Katou had gone through a complete change. She was usually happy or calm but never so depressed. She was also known to tell her feelings privately and not during practice. "U-Um…captain Katou, vice captain Emi, is something wrong?" Sakuno had the courage to ask.

"Yes…/What do you think?" Emi and Katou said at the same time. Emi was sarcastic while Katou sounded sad.

"Why doesn't everyone leave those two alone…? ZZzzz…" Everyone turned towards Yumi. Their eyes widened when they saw that she fell asleep. There was no way the most hyperactive trouble maker would ever be asleep. She would be the first to freak out and start yelling but now she's just taking it easy.

"Y-Yu-chan…" Airi went to go see if her sister was okay but Yumi was out and wasn't going to be waking up any time soon.

"Ah, fuck, this is so troublesome." The girls turned to Amane. Their eyes turned wide for the second time when they heard that one little cuss word.

"W-What is going on?" Natsume asked to the remaining survivors (Sakuno, Usio, and Airi).

"What the fuck do you think is going on? First I have to run laps and then stretch. Those shitty drinks didn't help either and they taste crappy."

The rest of the girls shivered. They have never seen such bipolar personalities happening in their friends that they knew very well. They were so out of character that it wasn't even funny. Natsume then took notice to what Amane said about the drinks. Yes, the drinks did taste a bit off and Natsume knew.

"Guys…I think we drank a new juice made by Sakamoto." A horrified look was plastered on Natsume's face.

"Oh so the genius finally figures it out." Sakuno said mockingly. Natsume, Airi, and Usio turned to her. They began to sweat. Cute, gentle, and kind little Sakuno was being sarcastic.

"I don't think practice can go on any further. I just don't feel like it." Katou sighed and then began to walk out.

"I hate practice." Emi mumbled as she walked away with Katou.

"W-Wait, we have nationals coming up." Natsume said softly. Airi and Usio looked at her. Natsume was never the nice, weak type. She would usually get mad at others and lose her temper quickly. She was also an ex-Yankee which made her tough.

"N-Natsume, you didn't hit your head r-right?" Airi asked.

"What are you talking about? I'm perfectly fine ~desu." Natsume said happily.

'_Desu…?'_ Usio and Airi thought at the same time. They were so scared that they started to shake. They also wondered who was going to be the next one to change.

"Ha…ha-ha…HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAA!" Airi laughed out loud.

"A-Airi…?" Usio wondered what had gotten into her best friend.

"Usio-chan, let's have fun!" Airi flipped all of the other girls' skirts.

"Airi you whore, I ought to kick your arse right out of here." Emi growled.

"Ah, so embarrassing!" Natsume blushed.

"Why does everyone have to see my panties…?" Katou began to cry.

"You bitch. No one dares to fuckin touch me. Now get your ass back here so I can kill you!" Amane chased after Airi. Sakuno was also cussing as she chased Airi. The whole thing felt like everything was turned upside down.

"Is the world ending!?" Usio, the last survivor, yelled out. "Wait…where's Sakamoto?" She asked herself out loud as she looked around.

"Sakamoto went home early. She said she was sick." Katou explained. Usio felt like dying. She knew who did it now.

'_Sa…ka…mo…to…I will murder you someday…'_ Usio thought. Then the effects began on her too. Usio began to…smile!?

All of the other girls, regardless of their personality change, stared at Usio. Usio **never** smiles at least not so openly and happy like she was doing now.

"Nyan, why is everyone staring at little Usio-chan?" Usio giggled. Usio **never** refers to herself in third person or giggles. Maybe the world really is coming to an end.

"Usio seems so happy. I feel envious…" Katou tripped and bumped her head on Emi's head. Emi and Katou rubbed their foreheads. They also felt a huge migraine.

"What the…? Wait, I'm back to normal and…oh, my god!? Is Usio smiling!?" Katou felt like she was about to barf.

"Nyan, why are you staring at Usio-chan like that??" Usio smiled.

"AHHH! I'm going crazy! Katou, pinch me to make sure I'm not having a nightmare!" Katou pinched Emi. They found out that it wasn't a nightmare unfortunately. Katou knew only one person could cause a nightmare like this to happen. Only an evil genius had enough intelligence to plan this little charade out.

"Sakamoto!!!" Katou yelled out that one genius's name. Katou ran out. She was going to run towards Sakamoto's house so she could punish Sakamoto herself.

"Oh my god, how am I going to fix this?" Emi knew she was in charge while Katou was gone. She was thinking about possible fixing solutions. She also tried to think about how she and Katou got back to normal especially since she knew that she drank the same beverage twice.

"Emi, bring me some beer. I'm thirsty." Amane commanded.

"And I need a manicure so get to it because I'm the princess." Sakuno lifted up her hand.

"U-Um, can't you try to be nice ~desu?" Natsume asked politely.

"Wahoo, panties!" Airi flipped the girls' skirts again.

"AHH!" The girls angrily chased after Airi. Emi couldn't take it anymore. These people were literally driving her to the point of insanity.

"…SHUT UP!!!" Emi commanded.

Everyone stopped to what they were doing and looked at the angry Emi. Emi looked so pissed that the background looked like it was on fire. The girls straightened up and stood on a line. Emi was pleased and then she calmed herself down. _'Um, Katou and I got back to our original selves when we got hit on the head so if I hit them on the forehead then they'll probably turn back to normal…or faint…I'm willing to take that risk.' _Emi grabbed a brick.

"Stand still. This will only hurt for a second." Emi lifted up the brick and smiled. She found a way to turn them back to their old selves and maybe get a little payback.

She was going to enjoy this, a lot.

* * *

The next day at practice, the girls remembered what they did but they desperately wanted to forget. Airi couldn't believe that she acted as some old pervert. Yumi couldn't believe that she was sleeping instead of being the one causing trouble. Usio couldn't believe that she smiled, referred to herself in third person, and giggled. Natsume had never seen such and delicate, weak side of her self. Amane couldn't believe how crazy she was. Sakuno had nightmare about her opposite side taking over and dominating her body. It was a day that they would remember for the rest for their lives.

None of the girls knew that that day had been video taped. "Ah, what happens in practice stays on YouTube." Sakamoto smiled. She had made a very good little skit off of the girls' performance the other day. She got almost a hundred thousand hits on that one video.

"Sakamoto, come here!" Katou yelled which was not very like her.

Katou had been blowing off of Sakamoto more than what she deserved. "Sakamoto, do 100 laps, no breaks, no water, and no stopping!" Katou ordered. Emi sweat dropped. Sakamoto shrugged and did her laps. It was to be expected since she did put Katou through a lot when she came over to her house.

Emi knew that Sakamoto was bad for the other day but to give her that many laps seems really mean so she decided to ask Katou about it since she was Katou's best friend and she is the vice captain.

"I know yesterday was hectic but 100 laps?" Emi tried to calm Katou down but with little success.

"You don't know what she did when I went to her house…" Katou looked depressed again.

Silence.

"So…what did she do?" Emi bravely asked.

"If I tell you, can you promise not to run away screaming and throw up in the bathrooms?"

Silence.

"Never mind, if its Sakamoto then it must have been hell." Emi didn't want to think about it anymore.

"Yeah, let's get back to practice." Emi nodded in agreement with Katou and began to play a little tennis with her as a part of practice.

Another rule was added to the black leather rule book that day: Never let Sakamoto out of your sight when handling food or drinks.

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**A/N: Please leave a review. ^ ^**


	3. At the Mall: Weird Encounters

**A/N: Guess what? I got a website! Go to my profile to check it out! Anyway, hope you like this chap! ^ ^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own POT if I did then the girls would obviously be involved!**

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The girls were waiting outside of the mall. Today they were going to have some fun. They did not like the other day when practice was hectic because of Sakamoto's special drinks. They were so happy that the guys' practice ended later than usual that day especially Usio. She didn't want anyone to see her act so…nice. Natsume felt the same way. She had to take three showers before having the feeling of being "clean" again.

The girls were waiting this time for one girl who was late. They got worried and sent someone to get her. Sakuno was obviously the one who was late and Natsume was sent to get her. When Natsume came back she was with Sakuno and then she sighed to Katou.

"Captain, Sakuno was heading in the opposite direction…" Natsume began to explain but the others could already guess what happened.

"Sakuno-chan…" Emi lightly laughed. She knew that Sakuno was hopeless in directions and wished that Ryoma escorted her just so she can see Sakuno's embarrassed expression.

"The streets were confusing…and the people's directions weren't very clear…" Sakuno blushed. She was embarrassed about still having no good sense of direction. Some of the girls wondered how she was able to survive her whole life and praised that she lived through it.

"Well…let's try to have a good time." Katou suggested.

Sakamoto noticed that the bushes were moving slightly. She smirked. She knew the boys' were following them because yesterday, Yumi had been practically yelling about their mall plans the other day and the boys' just happened to be in a table nearby. She knew they would come especially since she almost provoked Inui into it. She wanted to embarrass the girls again but this time, the guys would be there to witness it and her popularity on YouTube would grow.

"How about we split into groups of three? Katou, Emi, and I are group one, Natsume, Amane, and Yumi are group two, and Usio, Airi, and Sakuno are group three?" Sakamoto had a plan. She was going to make the funniest short movie ever which included the girls.

"Why do we have to get into groups?" Katou asked, suspicious of Sakamoto.

"Why must you question my suggestions?"

"Because there are evil intentions."

"Wow, Katou rhymes with Sakamoto." Emi joked.

"Anyway we'll go with your suggestion. No funny business Sakamoto or we won't follow your suggestions ever." Katou walked in first. Emi and Sakamoto followed.

"Splitting up will be good, I can buy new parts for my ride." Natsume smiled.

"Natsume, do you still have that motorcycle?" Amane asked.

"Woo! That was fun! I loved riding that thing all day!" Yumi grinned.

"But you would get chased down by the cops."

Silence.

"Let's go inside!" Yumi dragged Amane and Natsume in.

Sakuno just stared at the mall door. She couldn't believe how rebellious Yumi and Natsume were. She wondered why Amane was a part of their group. Airi and Usio placed their hands on Sakuno's shoulders. Airi smiled while Usio gave a nod of encouragement. The three then went in.

The guy regulars came out from the bushes and all turned to Inui. "This was the fun thing you were talking about?" Momoshiro asked, staring at his senior.

"Hmm, it will provide some good data." Inui replied, walking inside.

"I'll be leaving." Ryoma and Tezuka were about to leave then Fuji began to speak up.

"I wonder what kind of guys will pick up those girls. Sakuno-chan and Katou-chan are very pretty and their naïve nature will defiantly get them somewhere…strange." Fuji lightly smiled. Tezuka and Ryoma stopped walking and turned around.

"I need a new book." Tezuka simply stated.

"I ran out of tennis balls and need more." Ryoma said in an irritated tone.

Ryoma and Tezuka walked in. The other guys stared at the two stoic players then back at the genius who was still lightly smiling. "Nyaa, how'd you do that, Fujiko?" Eiji asked. He thought that Fuji might be some sort of magician.

"It's one of the privileges of being a genius." Fuji smiled and then walked in. Oishi and Kawamura were worried about what would happen so they went inside. Eiji went in because Oishi did and it sounded like fun. Momoshiro and Kaido were arguing about Fuji's point about the girls getting picked up by other guys. Kaido is Airi's girlfriend so he wanted to protect her. Momoshiro didn't have a girlfriend but he wanted to help out those girls too especially a certain ice princess named Usio. She was very pretty and there was no doubt that guys would swarm over to her so he was a bit worried too.

Then the fun begins.

* * *

Sakamoto, Katou, and Emi were at the book store. It was obvious that they would be there because all three are bookworms. Katou would be reading some action manga as well as some romance novels. She had a sudden urge to read them because sometimes they related to how she felt yet she didn't like the endings since they would be sad no matter which one she read. Sakamoto would be reading sci-fi, horror, and erotic novels then she would show Emi just to embarrass her. Sakamoto was more of a mature reader. Emi, despite almost having a nosebleed from Sakamoto's erotic books, would be reading any kind of book but she's interested in romance novels due to a certain genius.

"Emi, so how far have you gotten with Fuji-san?" Sakamoto asked while flipping through the pages of her book.

"Well…we're going on a date soon." Emi blushed and tried to his her happy yet embarrassed face behind her book. "What about you?" Emi asked.

"Hmm…we're in an adult relationship." Sakamoto smirked. She was lying but it was fun to let Emi's imagination go wild.

"What!? What…do you do?" Emi hesitantly asked.

Silence.

"Little kids wouldn't understand." Sakamoto chuckled. Emi just stared. She was too shocked to talk back Sakamoto was suppressing her laughter. She would try it with Katou next.

Katou came back with a couple of books. She sat down next to Sakamoto and began to briefly read the beginnings of each one. "Katou, you still haven't asked Tezuka-san out." Sakamoto said.

"So?" Katou was completely clueless as usual.

"Katou, you know you have a huge crush on Tezuka-san. You can't be his 'best friend' forever."

Katou thought about it. She wanted to stay as Tezuka's best friend and would stay like that forever if it meant that she could stay by his side yet even she knows that the strong feeling of love and attraction will never go away no matter how long she stays his best friend. "I know that but can't I be his 'best friend' for just a bit longer…?" Katou quietly said.

Sakamoto sighed. She hated how troublesome relationships could get especially Katou's. She remembered how she first hooked up with Inui. It was in the library. Sakamoto and Inui were kind of in a fight and didn't talk to each other but somehow made up in the end. Katou was a different case.

"What would you do if I found out that Tezuka didn't liked anyone?" Sakamoto asked.

"Um…well I wouldn't ask him out. Wouldn't that be weird?" Katou started to blush.

"Wow, Katou, you actually have a girl side in you!" Emi said happily.

"No I don't." Katou said then reverted back to her normal, tomboy self. Sakamoto still got pictures of Katou blushing. But Sakamoto was still worried about her friend so she began to silently devise a plan for the two to get together.

"Katou…?" The three girls looked up to see two guys. One was tall yet slim and the other was tall yet had broad shoulders.

"Ryuu…? Ryuu! I haven't seen you in a long time." Katou stood up and gave Ryuu a quick, casual hug.

Break.

Everyone looked around. They wondered where that breaking sound came from. Katou, Emi, and Ryuu didn't know. Sakamoto did spot Inui, Fuji, and Tezuka hiding somewhat. Inui and Fuji were the ones who were really hiding. Tezuka was just trying to get a book and then leave but he saw Katou and decided to stay longer. Tezuka also saw that hug so he accidentally broke a metal rack.

"Saa, I didn't know you were the type to get mad, Tezuka." Fuji smiled. Tezuka shot him a glare. Tezuka then ignored Fuji and began to read but would secretly glance back at Katou and the others.

"Sakamoto, Emi, this is my friend, Ryuu. Ryuu, these girls are my best friends Sakamoto and Emi." Katou introduced them.

"Ah, hi, this is my friend Dan. He's American." Ryuu replied.

They all sat down to have a nice chat. Katou and Ryuu were talking about their crushes and such.

"You met him remember. His name is Tezuka Kunimitsu."

"I don't understand why you like him. He's so…stoic."

"You're right but…he's like a sleeping tiger. He just needs to be awakened to show a different side of him." Katou smiled.

"You really like this guy." Katou nodded.

"Why don't you go for someone else? You have a lot of guy friends." Ryuu suggested.

Katou sighed. She thought about the same thing for a while but it just didn't feel the same. "I think it's okay to have guys as friends even when you're a girl but I have to set one thing straight. My heart beats for one man and one man only. His name is Tezuka Kunimitsu, my best friend." Katou smiled and then a tear began to form from the corner of her eye. _'He may be the only one I like and the only one I probably would never have…'_ she thought silently in her head.

"Geez…women are so troublesome…" Ryuu muttered. He then spotted Tezuka secretly glancing at Katou. Ryuu smirked. The then grabbed Katou and dragged her somewhere else. Tezuka was following to make sure she was safe (or being overly protective).

Ryuu cornered Katou and then got real close. Even though they were close, Katou didn't feel anything at all. She wasn't even nervous or blushing. She remembered when she hugs Tezuka all the time. Even though Tezuka doesn't hug her back, Katou still gets that warm feeling every time.

"You're not even blushing. I guess your denseness towards guys hasn't changed." Ryuu leaned in. He was about to kiss her since he did hear Tezuka's footsteps coming closer.

Tezuka saw that Ryuu was really close to Katou, too close. Tezuka was frozen for a second then he walked towards them, grabbed Ryuu, and punched him on the face. Katou was startled. She didn't even know that Tezuka was in the same shop and she never knew that he was the type to do that.

"Kunimitsu!?" Katou stared at him. His eyes showed that he was angry and jealous but Katou, being Katou, couldn't and didn't understand why he felt that way. "Kunimitsu is something wrong?" Katou asked. The Tezuka did something that was unlike him. Tezuka grabbed Katou and held her close. Katou's heart began to flutter. _'Only he could have this effect on me…'_ Katou thought before fainting. Her whole face was red like a tomato. Tezuka, being the only guy in her eye, had a strong effect on her because she was so dense and pure in love to the point of thinking as a baby in that area.

Ryuu smirked. "Well, Guardian-san, do you think you're protecting her or are you just jealous?"

"Katou doesn't know how to reject guys unless if it was direct."

"Well, what if she likes me?"

Tezuka paused. "I won't let you touch her." he replied sternly.

"Are those the words of a guardian or someone who's in love with her?"

Tezuka didn't answer. He just walked away, carrying Katou bridal style. Ryuu's words still were etched in his mind. He did love Katou but did she feel the same? (DUH!! Of course! Geez, Tezuka is so dense). He then told Sakamoto and Emi that he would leave with her and take her home himself. Sakamoto smiled deviously when he did and Emi tried to tease Tezuka with little success. Sakamoto and Emi smiled as the two left but they both know that nothing will really progress anyway so they were down again.

"Anyway, I have to go. It seems as though our boyfriends are here." Sakamoto left Emi with Dan. Emi didn't understand what Sakamoto meant but she looked around for Fuji. Dan liked Emi so he thought he'd pick her up since he omitted the boyfriend part from his mind.

"Hey Emi, how about we go for lunch baby?" Dan winked.

"Baby?? Lunch…? No." Emi simply replied. She felt shivers coming down her spine.

"Aw, come on. Let's have a wonderful night together." Dan leaned in. Emi slapped him on the face. Dan only smiled.

"You know, I'm a masochist and I like them feisty." Dan got closer to Emi. Emi was about to punch him but someone pulled her out in time.

"Emi is my girlfriend." It was Fuji. His eyes were opened and they were dangerous looking especially to Dan. Dan shivered and ran away from Fuji just smiling (with murderous aura around him).

Emi felt safe now that Fuji was there. _'Wait…Fuji-san is here…is this coincidence? Or maybe…Sakamoto…?'_ Emi asked herself.

"Thank you Fuji-san." Emi smiled gratefully.

"Call me Shusuke." He gave her a kiss on the forehead and lightly smiled back at her.

"E-Eh b-but I…" Emi blushed and started to talk about random things. Fuji just smiled. No one was going to take his Emi away.

* * *

Sakamoto chuckled. She had successfully lured both the girls and guys into the mall where her fun was starting. The next group she was going to strike is with Natsume, Amane, and Yumi. She was confident that Oishi, Eiji, and Kawamura would be there thanks to Inui's help. She was going to make another movie and she already successfully made part 1. Sakamoto was working with Inui this time and they both went on search for the next group.

Amane, Natsume, and Yumi would be in a motorcycle shop. Why? Because Natsume needed new parts for her bike, that's why. Yumi and Amane just wanted to help out. Natsume was a Yankee that used to get chased down by police cars so she needed a fast ride. Now she's not a Yankee but she does have her need for speed so she still owns her motorcycle.

"Natsume, why do you even need to fix your bike?" Amane asked.

"Because some retard stole my bike and took it for a spin." Natsume looked at Yumi. Yumi just whistled nervously and looked away.

"Y-Yumi, you didn't…?" Amane was about to ask but it was obvious that Yumi did it.

"Who cares if I crashed into a couple of things or pissed off the cops and was almost put under government watch?" Yumi laughed nervously and then looked for something to help with the repairs.

"Oh yeah, government watch is nothing. I've had worse. Even Yumi wouldn't last 2 minutes in jail without having her shoes stolen." Natsume muttered.

"…Natsume…have you been in jail before?" Amane asked, hesitant.

"…of course not…" Natsume looked away. "Oh sweet, this is red paint. Maybe this will fix the scratches." Natsume picked up the paint can.

By this time, Kawamura, Oishi, and Eiji went in because they couldn't resist. Yumi was the first to spot them because she has some sort of Kikumaru Eiji radar that's on all the time.

"Eiji!" Yumi went to go hug Eiji but Eiji automatically avoided it due to reflex of his crazy fan girls who would always hug him out of nowhere. Since Yumi missed, she would fall flat on her face and get a nosebleed.

"Ouch…my nose hurts." Yumi complained as she tried to stop the bleeding of her nose.

"Nyaa, sorry!" Eiji was freaking out because of the blood. Amane and Oishi went to Yumi's side to see if she was all right due to their kind, caring (and in Oishi's case, motherly) personality. They helped tend to Yumi. Amane blushed because she was spending time with Oishi even though there was blood involved.

Natsume sighed. She knew falling on the floor and getting a nosebleed was so Yumi. Who else would fall flat on the floor and get a nosebleed? Yeah, only Yumi would. "Yumi, you should go home." Natsume suggested.

"Natsume, you're worried about me." Yumi had happy puppy dog eyes. She then ran towards Natsume and attempted to glomp her but Natsume avoided it and then Yumi fell on the floor…again. She had another nosebleed…again.

"Is everyone out to get me!?" Yumi began to cry while blood was gushing out of her nose. Amane and Oishi went to go help out. Kawamura already fainted himself at the sight of blood. It was a total mess and Sakamoto, who was outside, recorded every second of it.

"Now for Usio, Airi, and Sakuno-chan." Sakamoto laughed evilly causing even Inui, who was right next to her, to shiver.

* * *

"Um…I think this shirt looks weird on me." Airi picked up a shirt with pink skulls on it.

"Why do you even want to wear that?" Usio asked.

"Um well…I'm going on a date." Airi blushed. Sakuno opened her mouth and looked surprised.

"So that's why you wanted to come to this place first." Sakuno said. "But um…who's your boyfriend, Airi-sempai?" Sakuno asked.

"Do you even need to ask? It's obviously Kaido-san." Airi's blush intensified.

"Eh? I didn't know you liked him." Sakuno was scared of Kaido. He did have really scary features and he always seemed angry all of the time.

"Well, he's really nice and kind. Animals always seem to love him." Airi smiled. Sakuno had doubts about Airi's claims.

"So you're trying to go for the mean look to match with him?" Airi nodded.

Usio and Sakuno looked at each other then back at Airi. Airi had similar looks to Yumi and Yumi was a really cute and a (seemingly) harmless girl. Airi did look more mature but she couldn't pull of the dangerous look because she didn't have the attitude or the looks for it.

"That's impossible, give up." Usio simply stated. Sakuno nodded even though she really wanted to help Airi out.

"But…I want to match with him…" Airi said.

Usio looked at her friend then thought about her failed confession and embarrassing (yet unknown to Momoshiro) rejection. "Why match with the men? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Why should we always have to do the work?" Usio was about to rip one of the skirts but Sakuno and Airi stopped her.

"U-Usio-chan, I know that um…well there's always next time." Airi tried to comfort Usio. Sakuno didn't know what was going on.

"What happened…?"

"Err…Sakuno-chan, Usio-chan's confession…didn't go very well…" Airi tried to explain. Sakuno looked at Usio. She seemed emotionless as always but there was a cold air around her that even seemed a bit sad.

"YOU IDIOT!! DON'T PUSH ME!!"

"SHUT UP, VIPER!! IT WAS YOUR FAULT ANYWAY!"

Sakuno, Airi, and Usio turned their heads to the sudden outbursts. They had a pretty good idea of who they were. Of course, it would be Momoshiro and Kaido arguing while holding each other's collars. Usio sighed. She was about to go over there and hit Momoshiro but then stopped and turned around. Airi was worried.

"Um, aren't you going to stop Momo-kun and Kaido-kun?" Airi asked.

"Why should I?" Usio hinted some sarcasm in her voice. She turned away and started to look for more clothes. Airi wanted to help her best friend but what could she do? She was the one who had a boyfriend so how could she comfort her friend if she didn't know what rejection was like?

"Um…Airi-sempai, shouldn't we stop them?" Sakuno asked. Airi nodded and they both walked over to the two bickering rivals.

"Kaido-kun…?" Airi called out. Kaido stopped his part of the bickering and got all shy.

"Yeah?" He replied, suddenly shy.

The two had a nice atmosphere. Momoshiro decided to be nice to his rival today since he did have a girlfriend and she will probably be the only one he would get.

"Sakuno-chan, let's go grab some burgers with Echizen." Momoshiro grinned.

"Eh? Ryoma-kun is here?" Sakuno looked around but found no sign of the said boy.

"Oh yeah…he was sleeping on something…" Momoshiro remembered that Ryoma was sleeping but the girls started to move and they couldn't wake him up so they left him. "Where did we leave him…?" Momoshiro was thinking hard then he remembered. _'Oops…'_ he thought.

"KYAA!"

Sakuno, Momoshiro, Kaido, and Airi turned their heads to see Ryoma running away from a hoard of angry girls. He had a bra on his head like a hat and even some girls' underwear clung to his clothes.

"You pervert!" One of them yelled out.

"I was just sleeping!" Ryoma argued. Ryoma kept running. Now he knew that there are two different sides of women: The scariness of their love and the scariness of their hate.

"R-Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno wanted to help but she was too soft and not aggressive enough. Momoshiro and Kaido can't say anything because their both guys and guys can't help in that situation or else it might get worse. Airi can't make peace between the horrible anger which left only one person to do the job.

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP!?"

Everyone turned to Usio. She was so pissed that her beautiful face became scary and tainted by the intense glare she portrayed. Usio just wanted to help her best friend look for clothes but then the topic of her rejection (still unknown to Momoshiro) made her mad. Now there were girls screaming in the store making her head hurt.

"Who are you to say…?" The girl quiet down because Usio looked beyond scary. She was horrifying.

"Buy your damn bra and leave." Usio presented the coldest glare ever. The mob of girls quietly walked away. Sakuno's, Kaido's, and Airi's mouths dropped. Ryoma stared in amazement and Momoshiro was the only one laughing.

"That was funny. You did a good job chasing them out, good job." Momoshiro patted Usio's head. Usio glared at him and then smacked his hand away.

"What was that for!?"

"You're disturbing me." Usio walked away with Momoshiro chasing after her.

Ryoma sighed. Airi and Kaido were having a nice air around them so he took Sakuno's and walked out with her. "It's too loud here." Ryoma mumbled to Sakuno and they walked out together. Sakuno smiled. She could talk with Ryoma more but…why was he at the mall in that same day…?

* * *

"Waah! We can't go to the mall together anymore! What happened!?" Katou asked. She was hosting a sleepover with only Sakamoto and Emi.

"It seems as though the others caused a disturbance." Sakamoto replied.

"What do you mean!? And Kunimitsu was there too for some reason! He doesn't even buy books on that day! Unless…" Katou stared at Sakamoto.

"How rude, I didn't do anything." Sakamoto business smiled.

"That's an obvious lie!" Katou was going to strangle Sakamoto but Emi held her back. "What did you plan this time!?"

"…Check on YouTube. You might find something interesting if you look under 'GNO at the mall'." Sakamoto chuckled. Emi and Katou's eyes widened. They quickly pushed and shoved each other to gain access to the internet.

They followed Sakamoto's orders exactly and found that they were being video taped secretly at their mall visit when they separated into three groups. Emi and Katou's mouths dropped. They had so many comments listed. Most of them were by crazy fan girls saying how hot each guy was but there were a couple of guys asking for some of the girls numbers.

"Sakamoto, you will run 50 laps around the courts at school on Monday!" Katou ordered.

Sakamoto chuckled. It was still worth it.

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**A/N: Wow…this chap is like…super long. It's like 4,000 words (4,011 if you want the exact amount). Please leave a review. ^ ^**

**I also have one question I want to ask everyone. Would anyone want Takeshi Konomi to create a girls' team? I know I would! That would be so awesome!**


	4. At Practice: Where are the Fans?

**A/N: Hope you like this chap! ^ ^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own POT**

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Practice was as harsh as always. With Nationals coming soon, the girls would have heir menus changed frequently. If they failed, they would become Sakamoto's guinea pigs and taste test her new drinks or food. They would try their best not to fail and often do better thanks to that weird motivation.

Sakamoto was probably the only one who looked forward to practice because she would have good test results for her experiments. Yes, Sakamoto was scary and should not be dealt with. Though sometimes those scary methods make some people think.

Sakuno was thinking about something. There were barely any fans lurking anywhere. She wondered why there weren't so much considering that some of the girls were very beautiful especially Usio. She thought that outside the courts would be flooded with fan boys and even some fan girls. She didn't see a single one in sight though.

"Um, Captain Katou, why aren't there any fans outside?" Sakuno asked.

"That's a really good question with a very complicated answer. You see, in the beginning when the team was formed, everyone wanted to be a regular but there was only one position opened. They all wanted to be near some of the girls and they would have chances to be with the guys' team." Katou replied.

"But if it was really that bad then wouldn't there still be people out to get this position?"

"Well…they're too afraid of Sakamoto for specific reasons…"

"…so…what are the reasons?"

Silence.

"You'd have to ask the queen of the underworld herself to find out." Katou stared at Sakamoto. Sakuno gulped. She walked over to Sakamoto and decided to be brave enough to ask since she really wanted to know.

"Um…Sakamoto-sempai, why aren't there any fans outside like on the boys' team?"

"…Are you sure you want to know?"

"…Yes…" Sakuno hesitantly said.

"Well…before you joined in and took the last spot there was trouble…" Sakamoto began.

* * *

Katou was crossing out most of all the candidates for their reasons for joining the tennis club. Katou selects students for their love of tennis, not for anything else. Most of the girls were stupid enough to put 'get closer to the boys' team' or 'to be with all the hot pretty boys' or 'so Captain Katou could take care of me'. She had a lot of girls signing up to chase after Natsume, herself, Sakamoto, and the boys.

Natsume, Sakamoto, and Katou looked like pretty boys to the girls because they wear shorts for practice instead of the standard skirt. There were also opportunities to be with the guys' team for trips and such. And since the guys' team was basically a bunch of pretty boys, they attracted millions of girls. Katou couldn't accept all of them.

She didn't know what to do. There was also the problem with fan boys. Since Usio joined, there has been a rapid increase for boys cheering on the girls. She needed a scapegoat but it had to be someone with at least some tennis skill. It couldn't just be anyone you know. If someone joined the regular spot but didn't have any tennis skill, it would be bad and the same applies when someone has good tennis skills but are only in it for the boys.

"Still thinking about which one to select huh?" Sakamoto handed Katou some water as she entered the room.

"Some of these girls don't have any talent in tennis and the others are just crazy for the guys' team." Katou sighed.

"I mean, I could let the girls who aren't good in tennis but want to play join. But then there wouldn't be anyone for that last spot. Also if I do pick someone with amazing skills they would be after the boys and demand to meet them." Katou drank all of her water.

"I don't get what the big deal is. They're just a bunch of stupid fan girls who are too noisy."

"Well, girls…um normal girls would be thinking about romance in high school right?"

"Yeah I guess and the ironic part about their attempts is that those guys are tennis obsessed." Sakamoto chuckled.

"You're right but aren't we that way too?" Katou laughed with Sakamoto. They both agreed on that part. Tennis was a thing all the regular girls loved but now, adding a new member was going to be hard considering that so many wanted that one spot yet few were qualified.

"Anyway, I came here to tell you that Usio was sexually harassed, Emi was threatened, and Natsume was almost raped…by girls…" Sakamoto almost shuddered at the last part. Katou spit out her water that she was drinking.

"B…but Natsume is a girl."

"They knew that…"

"…Aw fudge cakes, who am I supposed to let in now??" Katou banged her head multiple times on the table until her head was bleeding. Luckily, Sakamoto helped patch up the wound so it wouldn't squirt everywhere and make the room look like someone was murdered in there.

"Well, it obviously has to be a girl."

"Duh."

"They have to have good tennis skills and not obsessed with the boys' team."

"Yep, that basically sums it up."

They both went deep into thought thinking about all the girls in their class and all the girls they have met around the school. None of them fitted the criteria. They were either obsessed with boys, don't have the skills, or aren't interested. Then Sakamoto thought of one girl.

"What about Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter?" Sakamoto suggested.

"Ryuzaki-sensei…? She's Kunimitsu's coach. I heard that even though she's old, she sure is scary and tough. I bet her daughter might be good for the cut."

"Hmm, but first we need to meet her."

"Yeah, I think I'll scout her out later, practice is starting now." Sakamoto and Katou both walked out to practice.

It was hectic. Some of the non-regulars were normal girls who were pretty good in tennis but not good enough to be a regular. Then there were the people who were signing up to be a regular for other reasons that aren't related to tennis. It was going to be a long day.

"Sakamoto, I can't take this any longer. What if the girls harass Emi, Amane, and Usio? What if they attempt to rape me, you, or Natsume? What if Airi and Yumi get hurt?"

"I hear that some of them are trying to take out Emi, Amane, Usio, Airi, and Yumi because they would have a higher chance of getting in."

"What about you, me, and Natsume."

"You really are dense. Most of the girls that are fan girls of the team are for us three. All the other girls are out for the boys."

"But we're girls."

"They _**know**_ that. That's why Natsume was _**almost**_ raped."

Katou shuddered. She knew that she wasn't girly like other girls. She didn't even wear the proper tennis uniform. She wore the boys' one instead because she was more comfortable in it. Natsume did so as well but Sakamoto just wore sweat pants. It made those three look like pretty boys even with their long hair.

"So you're saying that…" Katou gulped, "Their preference is girls?"

"Exactly." Sakamoto and Katou felt like they were going to barf.

"Sakamoto, I don't care how you do it, just get rid of them." Katou stated.

"My pleasure…" Sakamoto smiled evilly.

By this time, Emi was pushing through the crowds of girls and some boys. She was harassed the whole day. Her pencils were glued together, she was told off by girls she didn't even know, and her locker was filled with hate mail. She tried her best to not mind and just let it go but it was getting harder every time. She was going to go insane if someone didn't do something about it.

Emi kept pushing and pushing away from the crowds and then she was surrounded by a circle of girls who didn't like her. She was best friends with Sakamoto and Katou. Those two were popular amongst the girls and since Emi wasn't like the other two, it just pissed the girls off.

"Fujimoto Emi how dare you steal our princes!" One of the girls yelled out, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb! You are a normal everyday girl yet you get to be so close to Katou-sama and Sakamoto-sama everyday."

"Yeah, you even…change with them!"

The sounds of girls 'kyaa'ing increased. Then they had a major nosebleed with perverted looks plastered on each of their faces. Emi felt sick. _'And they say guys are perverted…'_ Emi tried to walk away. One of the girls got out of their trance and then caught Emi.

"You've been too self-centered and greedy. Hey everyone, let's cut her hair like a boy's then dress her in ugly clothes because it will suit her." The girl who pushed Emi down then got on top of her said. She smirked.

Sakamoto watched the whole thing. She was about to break it up when they circled around Emi but instead she wanted to catch it on tape for evidence later on. She now has enough to prove Emi's innocence and getting those girls to back off. She thought of another plan. She smirked.

"What's going on here?" Sakamoto walked into the circle. The girls gasped and the girl who was on top of Emi got off and threw the scissors away.

"Sakamoto-sama!" The girls squealed in delight. Sakamoto felt disgusted.

"Emi is a member of the girls' tennis team. If you don't like it them beat her in a tennis match and take her spot. Also, I want each and every one of you to stop harassing all of the other members." Sakamoto announced.

"But that's not fair! They get all the privileges!" One of them complained.

"The only thing you're worried about is what you want. Everything else doesn't matter. In this place, the regulars are a team. If you don't like one of us then you don't like any of us. If you harass one of us, you're going down." Katou appeared and helped Emi up while saying that little speech.

"And from now on, anyone who harasses, hurts, or attacks the regulars, will be sent to a place even more horrifying than hell and I'll be your grim reaper." Sakamoto said with her voice thick with malice and evil intentions.

The girls as well as the guys who were there, shivered in fear. They had never seen Sakamoto so evil, so sadistic, and so demonic. They all ran away, fearing for their lives. No one was ever harassed again but there weren't many people who wanted to join the tennis team.

Katou felt like she was about to give up. They wouldn't enter the nationals together with all the girls in. Usio walked right to her. Katou also noticed a certain girl in pigtails standing shyly behind Usio.

"Captain, I think I found someone who can take that regular spot." Usio stated.

Katou smiled. "I see, she doesn't look much but let's give it a try."

* * *

"So…I took that last spot that everyone was practically dying for??"

"Yes, and the fans don't come to practice but they do annoy the regulars when it does not involve tennis or practice. This is the only time we have our peace."

"I see…it must be tough for the guys though."

"Yeah, they have to deal with fans all the time except at home I guess."

They both nodded and went back to practice. Katou was looking around at the courts. She loved how it was mostly quiet but she hated the fact that the guys' court had lots of girls screaming. She was ticked off when she heard their names especially Tezuka's. She wanted to go over there and tell them to shut up but she guessed that it was impossible to do so with all the mean fans out there. They would just tie her up and attempt murder.

Katou looked at her watch that had a built in date with the time. It was only a few more days until the nationals. She wouldn't be able to see Tezuka for a while. She sighed. She still hasn't made any progress and whenever she thinks about Sakuno's situation with Ryoma, she just gets reminded of herself.

'_God-sama…please help me.'_ She prayed. She then went to the center of the court.

"Everyone, practice is over early today!" Katou announced. The girls knew why. They will soon have little time to spend with their boyfriends/friends/crush.

Sakuno was the only one who blushed. She promised herself that she would win the nationals and then she would confess. She didn't think that it would be so soon though. _'Ah…I better be thinking of ways to confess at least.'_ Sakuno thought as she was walking to the gate.

She then saw a certain cat eyed boy with a white Fila cap on. He was drinking grape ponta. She blushed since the day that she would confess was just around the corner.

"You're slow as usual, Ryuzaki." Ryoma put his white cap on top on her head and then he walked ahead of her. Sakuno blushed but still followed her prince. What a nice day it was for her.

* * *

**Omake:**

Sakamoto has put many videos on YouTube. She also had the intention of the boys finding out so she made all these funny little skits, edited a couple of things, and tried to make it popular. Luckily for Sakamoto, they turned out to be really popular. It was so popular that the school talked multiple times about it each week when she released a new episode. The latest one was the mall featuring the guys. She had many more female fans added to the show.

The guys heard about a new little show on Youtube one way or the other and decided to check it out themselves. Let's see their reactions.

**Eiji:**

Eiji was just cooking some dinner for his older siblings. He wanted to get dinner finished as soon as possible because he was going to watch with his sister about some new YouTube show that's hot by a user named DataQueen.

"Eiji! Look you're in the show!" His older sister yelled.

Eiji put the finishing touches and then walked over to his sister. Sure enough, he was there along with Yumi and the others.

"Nyaa!?" Eiji was confused at first but then he laughed at the ending when Ryoma was chased by an angry mob of girls.

"Ha-ha-ha! I didn't know O'chibi was so bold!" Eiji just kept laughing. Then he watched it repeatedly with his sister for the rest of the night.

**Oishi:**

Oishi was just checking his e-mail. The only people who message him are Eiji, Fuji, and sometimes Tezuka which is surprising since Tezuka said he didn't have an e-mail account but that all changed thanks to Fuji.

Anyway, Oishi was checking his e-mail and of course he got three e-mails from Eiji. Oishi thought that it was a bit strange because Eiji would send him ten e-mails in one day that's why Oishi checks everyday so his e-mail box wouldn't be flooded.

Oishi opened the first e-mail and read the message. It was about school. The second one was an interesting story about a dead girl basically it was a forward e-mail. The third one sent him to the wonderful world of YouTube.

Oishi watched the little movie by the user DataQueen. He was surprised that someone was video taping their little trip to the mall. Oishi was worried. What if DataQueen was a fan girl that was stalking them? Oishi got worried and then sent an e-mail to Eiji saying that he should be more careful.

**Fuji & Tezuka:**

Tezuka was at Fuji's house for a project they needed to work on. They were silently doing research on it when they heard a squeal coming from Fuji's sister's room.

The two alarmed boys ran towards Yumiko's (Fuji's sister) room. Fuji immediately calmed down when all Yumiko was doing was watching something on YouTube. Tezuka heaved a sigh of relief that nothing bad really happened but what caught his and Fuji's eye was the little skit that was playing.

"What are you watching, sis?" Fuji asked. He walked over to her. Tezuka just stayed at the same spot. He was deciding whether to go back to the project or stay there waiting patiently.

Fuji saw the little skit and then he smiled sadistically. "Tezuka, I didn't know that you have a rival. I also didn't know that you were the type to punch someone out." Fuji lightly smiled.

Tezuka turned his head. His eyes widened a bit. He didn't know how Fuji knew about it but it probably had something to do with what he was watching. Tezuka went inside the room and politely asked to watch whatever they were watching a few minutes ago.

Yumiko replayed it. After it was over, Tezuka glared at Fuji. He only had four words to say to him. "Do. Not. Tell. Anyone." He then walked out and back into Fuji's room. Fuji just chuckled. He wouldn't say anything because he didn't need to. Everyone who has a computer and goes to YouTube knows about it already anyway.

**Kawamura:**

Kawamura was at home, working as usual then he heard giggling. Yes, giggling from upstairs. His mother was an internet obsessed woman. She would always go on YouTube to check out weird stuff about many things like parodies, crack stories, and a bunch of other things. This time she was hooked on to these mini segments for a user named DataQueen.

Kawamura went upstairs to see what was so funny. As he entered, His mother smiled at him.

"Takashi, I didn't know you were friends with DataQueen." His mother smiled.

"Eh, why is that?" Kawamura asked.

"Well then why are you here in this and isn't that Yamada-kun? She's so cute! Make sure to bring her home as your bride next time!" She smiled. Kawamura blushed.

"W-We're not like that, mom." He rubbed the back of his head shyly.

"Eh, but in one of these segments, she confessed to you outside of the shop."

Kawamura blushed a darker shade. "Oh, that's right, you didn't answer back. You shouldn't keep a young lady waiting." His mother scolded.

"I'm going to take a bath." Kawamura escaped.

**Kaido:**

Kaido was at the library trying to find some research materials for his project. He heard a bunch of noisy kids near the library computer and decided to check what the commotion was about. It was just a bunch of student laughing and giggling about something they were watching on YouTube.

Kaido got ticked off. People usually come to the library to read or for research on something (At least that's what he thought libraries were for).

"Fshuuu, if you're not going to study then scram." Kaido hissed.

The guys were scared and they ran away saying that they would never do it again. Kaido looked to the screen to see what was so funny. His eyes widened as he saw him and Airi just standing there…with a flowery background.

Someone must have edited some of it and that person's user name was DataQueen. He thought it might be Inui but he wouldn't disguise himself as a girl right? So that left his girlfriend, Sakamoto. Kaido blushed at it since there were some edited words.

Ah, what a weird thing to encounter at the library.

**Momoshiro & Ryoma:**

"Why do you even need to go on the internet? What's the point?"

"I have a lot of friends and we e-mail a lot…hey check this out, it's a cool little show on YouTube by DataQueen…that sounds a bit like Inui-sempai's girlfriend, right?"

"Oh, you mean that creepy woman that could be Inui-sempai's twin sister if he looked like her?"

"…You should be more respectable to your sempais and you should be nicer to girls, really nice."

"Che, I don't want a harem like you do."

"It's not a harem! It's just friends hanging out with friends that happen to be girls!"

"No wonder Usio-sempai doesn't want to look at your face anymore." Ryoma smirked. Momoshiro just sulked silently as he viewed the little show. His eyes widened when he realized that they were in it.

"Echizen…you're in this…" Momoshiro burst out in laughter. It was so funny when he saw it for the first time but watching it again was just so much better especially when it's edited to make it look funnier.

"Where does this person live?"

"Why would you want to know?" Momoshiro tried to stifle his laughter and keep it at a minimum.

"I'm going to challenge him or her into a match and when I win, they'll take this down."

"No way, you said you didn't like the internet anyway."

Momoshiro was right. Now he gave Ryoma an even better reason to not like the internet.

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**A/N: Please leave a review. ^ ^**


	5. Nationals: First match

**A/N: Hope you like this chap! ^ ^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own POT**

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"Okay! Face…check! Hair in braids…check! Red tennis racket…check! Warm ups…done. Obento made…check!" Sakuno woke up early in the morning for this specific day. Yes, today was the day of nationals! She was making all of the necessary preparations.

Lately, Sakuno has been wondering about her progress as well as the girls' tennis styles. She didn't really get to see much because she was out when it came to the important matches and the important matches were the only ones who seemed to make the regulars serious. Even in practice, the girls didn't seem to be playing seriously against each other.

'_I wonder about Sakamoto-sempai's style. She never practices, at least, I don't see her practice…come to think of it, I've only seen her play once and that was against Inui-sempai…same thing for most of the other regulars too…'_ Sakuno thought to herself as she walked to school.

* * *

"She's late." Sakamoto stated the obvious. All the girls were already at the right place. Luckily, the nationals were held in Japan. A certain girl in short pigtails was late.

"We know." Katou mumbled.

"Oh, my god, what if she was taken away by the shadows!!?" Yumi exclaimed.

"Yumi…what the heck are shadows?" Natsume asked.

"Well…err…they are people that hunt you down secretly." Yumi lied.

"Yumi! She didn't do anything stupid!" Natsume smack Yumi.

"Maybe she's lost again." Airi had the most accurate idea out of them all.

"I'll go get her." Amane volunteered.

Amane walked out. The rest of the girls sighed. How could Sakuno be late for an important day like this? It was the Nationals for crying out loud! If they didn't get in soon, they would be disqualified. Yumi was pacing around, Sakamoto and Katou were deep in thought, Emi was just sitting on a bench, Usio was sketching (as always), and Natsume was drinking some orange juice. After five minutes, they began to look for a substitute.

"Hello-…! Why aren't you guys getting ready for the next match? Where's Amane-sempai and Sakuno-chan?" Tomoka came out of nowhere.

The other girls were about to groan because Tomoka was a very loud girl but then again, maybe she was a blessing in disguise. She was almost the same height, similar hair/eye color, and with the girls' tennis uniform, she could look like Sakuno.

"Tomoka-san, we need to borrow you for a sec." Emi placed her hands on Tomoka's shoulders. Tomoka just nodded. She didn't know what they wanted but went along anyway.

* * *

Amane was running back with Sakuno. Sakuno was lost again. Luckily, Amane ran into her. Once they met, Amane quickly took Sakuno's hand and told her that the others were waiting. They both knew that if they were late, they were going to be in big trouble and they wouldn't even have a chance at nationals. When they finally reach their destination, the rest of the team wasn't there.

"Did they already sign in?" Amane questioned to no one in particular. Sakuno didn't know either. They both ran around for a bit until they spotted the rest of the gang…along with Tomoka dressed up like Sakuno.

"Tomo-chan!?" Sakuno ran to her best friend. They did look alike except for that beauty mark on Tomoka's face and her loud voice that Sakuno absolutely can never compare to.

"Sakuno-chan, where were you!? I had to be you so your team could get accepted! Now you owe me an obento tomorrow." Tomoka smiled. Sakuno laughed a bit.

"Okay, I will and thank you, Tomo-chan." Sakuno hugged Tomoka.

"Um…sorry to break your best friend moment but we need Sakuno since she's the first match." Katou stole Sakuno and then the rest of the girls headed towards the courts.

"Um…but isn't doubles 2 the first to play?" Sakuno said.

"That's right. You're playing with Amane in doubles 2." Katou replied.

Sakuno's mouth dropped. She knew that Amane was a gentle and sweet girl just like her. They weren't really aggressive players and she wanted to know what Katou was thinking about when pairing these two up. Sure she knew that Amane was a really good player and they were very similar in many ways but that was the problem. _'What if I don't play well with Amane-san?' _Sakuno asked herself.

"B-But, I don't know how to play doubles."

"Don't worry. Amane is compatible and flexible enough to be anyone's partner. We didn't use her in doubles before because it was usually Usio and Airi for doubles 2. Yumi and Emi are for doubles 1. Amane or Natsume would tale turns for singles 3, Sakamoto would be in singles 2, and I would be in singles 1." Katou explained. "And you'll do fine." She added.

Sakuno smiled. She was glad that someone had faith in her.

* * *

Amane and Sakuno were standing at the courts. They were playing two other girls from India. One of them had fair skin, black eyes and blonde hair. The other had olive skin, brown eyes, and light brown hair. They looked as though they were plotting something and they were.

"Sakuno-san, you should be careful." Amane suggested. She could sense that they were probably going to so some underhanded tricks to win.

"Eh, why?" Sakuno asked. Sakuno sadly couldn't detect it.

"Something's not right." Amane then walked near the net. "I'll take the net. You go to the baseline and serve, alright?" Amane smiled.

Sakuno smiled and nodded. She then went to the baseline to serve. Sakuno didn't know that Amane somewhat knew that their opponents' style of play was anything but nice. Amane took net so she would be able to defend Sakuno better. _'They look like they are ready to hurt us…' _Amane thought as Sakuno began her serve.

Sakuno hit the ball at normal strength. From the lessons she learned from Sakamoto, collecting some amount of data first before really playing is the first thing you do. Amane saw that her opponents had smirks on their faces.

'_Just what are they planning…?' _

Before Amane could think any further, one of them hit the ball back. The speed was so fast that it past Amane in a blink of an eye. The ball was going dangerously fast towards Sakuno. Sakuno wasn't fast enough to dodge or counter from the spot she was in. Sakuno tilted her head to avoid a hit on the face. The ball flew right past her, merely leaving a scratch on her delicate face.

"Sakuno-san!" Amane walked over to Sakuno's side. The other girls were whispering at the sidelines.

"Did you see that?" Sakamoto asked. She was writing in her purple notebook.

"Yeah, and it didn't look like it was on accident." Katou replied.

"Hmm, maybe they'll hurt Amane and Sakuno-chan."

"If they do, you'll send them to hell."

"Yep." Sakamoto smirked. No one was going to hurt any of her teammates.

Back in the courts, Sakuno was rubbing her cheek. _'Did they try to hurt me…?'_ Sakuno wondered. Amane was looking at their opponents. They were still smirking and then they were whispering to each other about something. Amane decided that she needed to be faster and more cautious of those two.

Sakuno and Amane got back into their positions then Sakuno served. She hit the ball with more intensity than the first time and she sent it towards the corner. Their opponents were already ready to return it. They aimed it for Sakuno again but Amane got in the way and returned it herself. She knew that she would waste a lot of energy when returning those kinds of shots but she was going to do it anyway so Sakuno wouldn't get hurt.

Their opponents were still satisfied. They would try to wear Amane down or hurt Sakuno in order to win_._ That was their strategy._ 'Did they do this for all of their matches?' _Amane thought as she successfully returned a ball. They were already rallying for the next point. _'If that's true then I have to help Sakuno-san and make sure she doesn't get hurt before I run out of energy.'_ Amane hit the ball towards the center and made a point.

"One game to love!" The umpire stated.

'_This is going to be a long match…'_ Sakuno and Amane both thought.

"Amane-san, you can rest. I can take care of it myself." Sakuno suggested. She could see that Amane was getting pretty tired and she looked a bit worn out.

"Sakuno-san, you couldn't even dodge their first ball thrown at you. If you can take care of yourself then make sure they do hit you at all next time. If you can do that then I won't need to run around so much." Amane lightly laughed.

"Amane-san…" Sakuno frowned a bit.

Sakuno froze. She had been training harder than everyone else yet she was still behind. She wanted to impress her seniors by winning the first match. She wanted the faith of her captain to stay that way. She wanted to know if she had improved and be good enough to win a couple matches against Ryoma.

"I do need to do something. Amane-san, please don't worry about me." Sakuno went back to the baseline. She had come so far already. She was not going to let one little scratch scare her off.

This time their opponent served. Sakuno was ready to get it because Amane missed it due to her low fatigue. Sakuno was ready to hit the ball back but as soon as her racket touched the ball, her racket was sent flying.

'_They have power…so this is what it's like to be in the nationals…'_ Sakuno thought. She also felt a bit sad about her pink racket. Some of the strings were broken and she couldn't use it anymore.

"Sakuno-san, are you alright?" Amane asked, worried.

"Yeah, I just need to change rackets." Sakuno smiled.

Sakuno went though her bag and found a red racket. She hugged the red racket. _'Please, Ryoma-kun, watch me win…'_ She silently prayed. Sakuno went back into the courts. Amane noticed her different colored racket right away since she was the closest person.

"Sakuno-san, why don't you have another pink racket?" Amane asked.

"…Because this one helps bring my hopes up when I'm down." Sakuno replied. Amane didn't know what she meant but Sakuno had a warm smile plastered on her face. That racket must be really special to Sakuno in Amane's opinion.

"Hey, that racket looks a lot like Echizen's." Katou said out loud.

"What do you mean?" Sakamoto asked. She raised her notebook up to add in more notes.

"Well her racket has the same color though it looks a bit old like a couple years old." Katou explained.

"Hmm…interesting." Emi smiled and Sakamoto nodded in agreement.

The match resumed with their opponents in the lead. Sakuno started her serve. This time, she hit it towards the corner. Their opponent caught up to the ball but swung their racket too late.

"Fifteen love!"

Sakuno bounced the ball for a couple of times then in one swift movement, she threw it in the air and hit it right towards the center. Their opponents were getting pretty tired of the dragging match so they decided to use their underhanded tricks a couple more times. One of them hit the ball straight towards Sakuno's feet. Sakuno tried to reach for it but tripped in response.

"Sakuno-san…" Amane went to her side. They had been going too far in trying to hurt Sakuno.

"Ha-ha, I'm alright Amane-san." Sakuno smiled.

"How can you smile when you just fell?"

"I'm okay. Let's start the match." Sakuno dusted herself off and then got up with some difficulty. _'Oh no, did I…?'_ Sakuno was worried.

Amane watched Sakuno and knew what was wrong. She sighed and walked over to the umpire. She didn't want to say it but she had to. _'I'm sorry Sakuno-san…'_ Amane thought ruefully.

"Umpire, we forfeit." Amane said.

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**A/N: Please leave a review. ^ ^**


	6. Nationals: First match part 2

**A/N: Hope you like this chap! ^ ^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own POT**

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"Eh? Amane-san why…?" Sakuno asked. She didn't want to forfeit. This was the nationals for crying out loud. She wanted to win.

"Sakuno-san, you twisted your ankle, didn't you?" Amane said. Her back was to Sakuno. Sakuno didn't answer. _'So Amane-san noticed…'_ Sakuno thought. When she got up, her ankle was stinging in pain so getting up was a bit hard to do. Sakuno could barley move from her spot and her ankle was shaking a bit from the pain.

"We can't go one any further." Amane said. She was worried about Sakuno. She is a part of their 'family' so it was natural to care for her.

"No." Sakuno spoke up. Everyone was surprised. All the girls looked at Sakuno who had on a determined face – one that made her seem like she could take up any challenge. They all have trained with this girl. She used to complain that the menu would be too hard. She would train hard despite it all. They knew she was strong but they never thought she would go this far just to continue playing.

Katou smiled at her. _'So she's got more courage.'_ Katou thought to herself. _'But you're going to need more than that to win Sakuno.'_ She added in her head.

"You can't go any further and even if we continue, you'd only be hurting your ankle more and then you won't be able to play." Amane tried to reason. Her words were true. Sakuno might risk really hurting her ankle and she may not even be able to practice later on.

"Amane-san, I've wanted to play more than anyone else. I've trained along with everyone else. I'm not going to back down not when I'm already this far." Sakuno whispered with determination in her tone.

Amane looked at Katou for an answer. She wanted to support Sakuno's decision but she also wanted Sakuno to stop. Katou looked at Sakuno and then nodded. Amane called for a time-out and then went to go talk to Katou.

"Captain Katou, Sakuno-san's ankle…" Amane began.

"I already know but Sakuno's right. It's her decision to continue. I have no say in whether or not she wants to play but I am the captain. I'm giving both of you guys ten minutes. If you don't finish within that time limit then you're forfeiting automatically, 'kay?" Katou looked stern at first but then softened into a smile at Amane and then she winked at Sakuno.

Sakuno smiled back at her. Amane stared at Katou and glanced back at Sakuno. She was really worried. _'If Sakuno-san is serious then I guess I'll have to help out…'_ Amane walked over to Sakuno.

"Sakuno-san, let's trade rackets." Amane suggested.

"Eh? Why?" Sakuno asked.

"Trust me on this."

"Okay."

Amane and Sakuno switched rackets. Sakuno almost didn't want to because that racket is special to her. She remembered when she first got it. That was a precious memory she would never forget as long as she had that racket.

"Be careful with it." Sakuno told Amane. Amane smiled. She knew how precocious the racket was to Sakuno. It was practically written all over her face. Amane did this for a reason. She knew of some sort of psychological plan. Since the racket she was holding is special to Sakuno, if Amane takes it away for a short time, then near the ending, Amane would give it back and Sakuno would feel more in charge. That was the plan.

"Don't worry. I'll take extra care of it so worry about how you are going to play with your ankle."

Sakuno already thought about it. She decided that she would stay on the baseline, right at the center, and not move from there unless it was absolutely necessary. They only needed to play one more game to win. Their opponent served. They were still aiming for Sakuno. Luckily, Sakuno was more prepared for this. She only slightly moved to return the ball.

Their opponents switched targets and then aimed a ball for Amane's face. Amane couldn't stop the ball but she could counter it. Amane hit the ball while lightly spinning it in the opposite direction. She did her famous timed drop shot. Their opponent couldn't reach it in time. They continued this until they stole two more points.

Amane switched rackets with Sakuno. She felt as though Sakuno should have her racket because she had a strange feeling that they would win the match if she returned it by this time.

"Che."

"Don't worry. Let's go for that girl again."

"You're right. She's injured."

"Yeah, if we take her out then it's an automatic default."

They were talking in foreign language so Neither Amane or Sakuno could understand what they were plotting. Amane did notice that they were snickering at her and Sakuno. _'Are they going after Sakuno-san again…well then, I'll just have to end this match quickly.' _Amane smiled at Sakuno.

Sakuno also noticed her opponents' snicker. She wasn't going to lose and she somehow knew that Amane was going to defend her but Sakuno wouldn't back down. She was going to fight back.

Her opponents began to aim for Sakuno as their main target again. This time, Sakuno was ready for their shots and since she didn't have to move, she could hit the ball back without injuring her ankle further. Amane wanted to help Sakuno because she looked like she was in pain and Sakuno was in pain.

Just by standing in that same spot for too long and still add pressure to her foot and even if she shifted her weight to her good foot, the pressure would be too much. Her ankle was already throbbing and she didn't even move but she is still exerting pressure on her foot. She can't really lessen it or move around too much anyway.

They fought for the last point. It was 40 - 40 all. Amane needed to get the last point. She wanted to help Sakuno for her determination. Their opponent served and Amane quickly returned it. Her opponents didn't want to give up so easily. They dragged out the match by turning the last point into a rally.

'_Just one more point!'_ all four girls thought in unison.

Sakuno was the most determined. _'Ryoma-kun…Ryoma-kun __played 2nd singles against Shinji Ibu and won despite his eye injury so…I can win too even with my ankle throbbing in pain.' _Sakuno thought. She looked at her red racket and instantly remembered the day when she saw Ryoma play against Shinji and won. She hugged her red racket while thinking of him. She smiled. She had a strong feeling that she would win.

'_I can win. Watch over me Ryoma-kun.'_ Sakuno thought.

Amane missed the ball and it was heading towards Sakuno. Sakuno held her racket properly. Sakuno took a deep breath and ran. She then slides towards the net, jumps, and smashes the ball causing it to bounce into two consecutive arcs which form the shape of an uppercase 'B'.

"Drive B." Sakuno whispered.

"Whoa, total Echizen transformation!" Katou pointed out.

"What do you mean by that?" Sakamoto asked.

"Well, I always went to the matches that involved Seigaku because of Kunimitsu and I saw some of Echizen's matches. That shot is called Drive B. I never expected Sakuno to do that." Katou smiled.

"Game and match to Seigaku's Ryuzaki/Miharu pair, six games to three!" The umpire announced.

The whole team rushed to Sakuno and Amane's side. They congratulated them both. Their opponents shot death glares at them but eventually sat on the bench.

Sakuno immediately collapsed. Her ankle was hurting a lot and that slide didn't help at all. Her ankle was in even more pain and it hurt a lot. _'I still won. Thank you, Ryoma-kun.' _She hugged her red racket and smiled.

* * *

The next match was being set up. This time it was Usio and Natsume paired up. Katou wondered if it was a mistake since those two weren't exactly on the best of terms. Natsume may have been an ex-Yankee and she has a short temper but she's okay to be around with.

Usio is the exact opposite. Usio had always been a beauty with an emotionless face but she wasn't snobbish yet you couldn't hang around her because of her cold stares. It was like putting fire and ice together but that's not why they didn't like each other.

"I would've preferred to play with Airi." Usio said.

"You're no fun to be with. Just don't drag me down, ice princess." Natsume countered.

Their opponents saw their little quarrel. They thought that it might be a very easy win and they were right since Natsume and Usio's bickering was very convincing. It showed that they were enemies rather than their opponent.

"At least I'm not a fool and a block head."

"What did you say!?"

"There's no point in saying anything to you especially when I might have to explain it over and over again."

"You! I'm going to beat these guys and then I'll play against you."

"Fine by me."

The two stood at the courts, ready to play. Maybe this decision wasn't so bad after all.

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**A/N: Please leave a review. ^ ^**


	7. Nationals: Second match

**A/N: Hope you like this chap! ^ ^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own POT**

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Pok. Pok. Pok.

Usio was serving the ball for this match. Her mind had been wandering off for a split second because she was thinking of some sort of plan but she couldn't think of one that was right. She couldn't imagine a plan since this was a doubles match meaning she had to work together with…Natsume.

Natsume was more of the start-fighting-now-and-think-later type so it was understandable that she was a bit ticked off that Usio was taking a couple of extra minutes to bounce the ball.

"How long are you going to bounce that ball?" Natsume asked.

"Until I feel like serving." Usio replied.

"Don't take too long, ice princess." Natsume suppressed her anger and tried not to quarrel with Usio longer than necessary. She remembered that Katou sternly stated that they shouldn't fight at all or else they will be punished by Sakamoto's experimental food.

Usio sighed softly when she couldn't think of a plan that involved Natsume in and she couldn't tell Natsume about the plan either because: A) Natsume does whatever she wants B) Even if Usio somehow convinced Natsume to follow the plan, it would be a disaster.

'_I'll just have to think of one without her knowing it…hmm, that could work.'_ Usio slightly smiled.

"Hurry up, already!" Natsume growled.

Usio slightly smirked for a moment and then served the ball. Their opponent returned it and Natsume hit it back but missed it the second time around causing them to lose the first point.

"Why are you so slow, Natsume?" Usio stated.

"I'm not slow!"

Usio smirked without talking (bickering) more with Natsume. This time, Natsume hit it really hard. Their opponent couldn't return it in time. In the next return, Natsume made sure that when they did catch up, they couldn't return it unless they were strong enough.

"Ha! How's that, ice princess?" Natsume grinned.

"I could've done better." Usio sighed and shrugged.

"Oh really!?"

"Yeah."

"Stupid ice princess…I'll show you." Natsume muttered as Usio served.

Their opponents were wondering about Natsume and Usio's pairing. Usio seemed to let Natsume get the balls whenever she got the chance and Usio would return it when Natsume couldn't and then Usio would provoke Natsume which would make Natsume more fired up.

Usio slightly smiled. She had made the perfect plan that involved Natsume without her knowing. She used Natsume's quick-temper to help get her fired up. She also knew that they were used to being singles instead of doubles players so it was natural to chase after the ball. Usio knew this so she stayed back and controlled from the sidelines.

"Usio's really smart." Katou commented.

"You're right. By letting Natsume have the chance to get the ball is a very good thing. It's like there are two barriers. Even if they get past the first one, the second one is right there waiting." Sakamoto added.

"Yeah, in a doubles match, you need to be compatible with your partner. Each needs to complete what the other lacks in order to make a great pair. In this case, Natsume and Usio are two opposites but…" Amane stared at the two. "It's also vital to understand each other or else it won't work."

"Amane, you've become quite the doubles expert." Katou grinned.

"I learned it all from Sakamoto." Amane smiled.

Back to the match, Natsume was growing slower and slower. She had been using too much stamina in capturing every ball before Usio got the chance. Usio sighed because her partner wasn't going to stay much longer even though they were in the lead, four games to two.

"Why are you missing all the shots now?" Usio asked. She was hoping that Natsume still had some more fire power left in her.

"Shut up! I haven't seen you do anything!" Natsume barked.

'_She still has energy if she could still get yell at me so she's fine…but I can't rely on her much anymore.'_ Usio returned the ball and scored another point.

"Oh, no you don't!" Natsume chased after more balls and tried to return them but she was getting so exhausted that she looked like she could fall asleep. And soon, Natsume fell asleep while standing. Usio couldn't believe that someone could sleep while standing.

"Natsume! Get up!" She yelled but it was no use. Natsume didn't move an inch from the center. She was even snoring loudly. Usio had to run all over the court to retrieve the balls. She didn't have as much stamina as Natsume did. Usio didn't work out a lot like the others. Her stamina was only above average not superior like the others.

'_Geez, wake up you idiot!'_ Usio mentally cried in her head.

Natsume was snoring loudly as if she just answered back with a big fat 'NO'. Usio got ticked off. Never before had she been so irritated with someone other than Momoshiro and her dad. She never felt like she had more emotion anywhere else, anytime in her life.

Just as they were tied for a point, Airi spotted the guys' team coming over.

"Captain Katou, the guys are here!" Airi exclaimed to all the other girls too. The girls turned their heads (excluding Natsume and Usio since they were playing) towards the guys' direction.

"Kunimitsu!" Katou smiled warmly, ran towards Tezuka, and gave him a hug. "Thanks for coming!" Katou smiled at him. Tezuka patted her head but he never pushed her away. He really liked Katou's hugs but he wouldn't hug her back since there were intruders (both the girl and guy regulars).

"Hn," was his stoic reply.

"Tezuka, I didn't know you would get so lovey-dovey with your girlfriend right when we just got here." Fuji chuckled. Most of the other regular snickered. Tezuka gave them all glares.

"Everyone run 20 laps tomorrow." He said.

"Whatever for, captain?" Fuji innocently smiled.

"For training." Tezuka simply replied. He didn't state the real reason. Katou and Tezuka walked towards the courts with the rest of the guy regulars containing their laughter right behind them. The other girls saw them and mentally squealed in their minds. They were happy to see their boyfriends, friends, or crushes since they were too busy training to see them at all.

"Saa, it seems as though the game isn't going well." Fuji said as he was watching.

"Actually Sakuno-chan and Amane-chan were in doubles 1 and they won. Natsume and Usio were doing really well and then Natsume is fatigued right now." Emi explained.

Momoshiro stared in amazement. He had never seen Usio so hard working before. She was always the one with a calm, cool expression in front of a lot of people and she would occasionally show him an angry face once or twice but that was it.

"Where's Ryuzaki?" Ryoma, surprisingly, asked.

"She's at the hospital." Katou answered.

"What!? Nyaa, what happened!?" Eiji exclaimed, worried. Yumi pouted.

"Well…Sakuno-chan's ankle was sprained…" Amane answered.

"How'd that happen?" Ryoma asked. He sure was being surprising today.

"…ask her yourself tomorrow." Sakamoto smirked. Ryoma glared at her.

"Aw, little O'chibi is worried about Sakuno-chan!" Yumi glomped on Ryoma (seems familiar…).

"Get…off…me…!" Ryoma managed to say between his chokes. Everyone had to pry Yumi off of Ryoma.

"Guys, Natsume is sleepwalking!" Emi exclaimed. Everyone immediately turned their attention back into the match.

Emi was right. Natsume was running over the court, retrieving all the balls again with her eyes closed. Natsume was snoring so they assumed that she was still asleep. Usio was the one who was the most surprised. One moment Natsume was doing nothing and in the next, she was battling it out in her sleep!

Usio had thought that Natsume had gone crazy or maybe that she trains while sleeping all the time. _'That idiot is finally helping at least.'_ Usio thought. The others were completely amazed that someone could still play while sleeping. Seriously, how many people can play tennis in their sleep, literally?

"Come on, idiot, keep playing!" Usio yelled out to Natsume. Natsume suddenly stopped and let the ball pass her. She then rubbed her eyes and groggily looked around.

"Who called me an idiot!?" Natsume looked at Usio and glared. She just knew that it would be her.

"Yes, it was me." Usio said in a calm manner.

"I feel like hitting your pretty face, ice princess." Natsume smiled wryly.

"Let's see you try." Usio smirked for only a moment.

"Girls, break it up. I'm warning you!" The umpire stated.

Usio and Natsume stopped their meaningless bickering and focused their energy back in the match. It was hard. They were tied with one more point to determine the winner. Right now they were rallying. Natsume and Usio were already tired but their opponents' were as well.

'_I guess I'll have to use my special move.'_ Usio thought as she rushed to catch the ball. Usio tightened her grip, changed her stance, and got ready to hit. Natsume took this as an offense. She thought Usio was out for the limelight. Natsume ran to the ball and returned it before Usio did but it left the other side of the court wide open.

"You idiot!" Usio yelled. Only then, that's when Natsume realized that she shouldn't have left her spot.

"Game and match, Ela/Padma pair wins seven games to six!"

Usio and Natsume may be opposites but they both have the same expression when they lost – it was the expression of anger mixing with a tinge of sorrow. They both walked out the courts with their heads down.

"Sorry captain…" Natsume muttered. Usio didn't say anything but put a towel on her head before looking up with an emotionless expression. They both sat down on the bench with towels hanging on their heads.

"It's alright you two. This is doubles play meaning that both of you were supposed to play together." Katou tried to cheer them up.

"Hmm…" They replied weakly. Katou didn't succeed.

"A house divided against it self cannot stand." Katou said. Natsume and Usio secretly glanced at each other. Maybe they weren't the best doubles partners but they were better at being rivals.

"Big fat idiot."

"Dumb ice princess."

They smiled without looking at each other or else their strange friendship/rivalry would end.

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**A/N: Please leave a review. ^ ^**


	8. Nationals: Third match

**A/N: Hope you like this chap! ^ ^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own POT **

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The last match was hard. Now the score is 1 – 1. The next match is with Yumi. Yumi took out her orange racket and smiled like always. She was so happy that her boyfriend was going to watch her play. She had her own style of acrobatics play too.

"Which?" Yumi asked.

"Rough." Her opponent replied.

Yumi spun her racket and she got it upside down or 'rough'. Yumi still smiled. She hadn't gotten to be wild enough in a long time and now that she was in nationals, she wanted to get the most of it. Yumi was more used to playing doubles but she decided to play singles for once.

Yumi watched as her opponent served a fast one. Yumi is able to see the minute movements of the ball and she has really good reflexes. Yumi caught the ball then returned it quickly and scored a point. Yumi smiled. Yumi started to jump up and down because she already mastered the split step.

"I wonder if Yumi will do okay. She's been used to doubles." Amane said.

"Well, if you think about it, because Yumi is more suited for doubles she has a 45% chance of winning." Sakamoto said.

"Well, we'll just have to see." Katou smiled.

Yumi had already scored two more points while the others were talking in the sidelines. Her opponent wasn't happy about this at all so, on her serve, she made sure the ball would bounce higher right near her face.

Yumi's opponent served the ball. Yumi chased after the ball again. She was having a really fun time messing with her opponent. The match looked like Yumi was about to win though a certain boy in a white Fila cap was thinking that the match was pretty boring even though Yumi was literally jumping all over the courts. He decided to leave since the match looked like an easy win.

"Ne, where's the hospital Ryuzaki is staying at?" Ryoma asked Amane.

"Eh? It's at XXX hospital." Amane replied.

"Thank you." Ryoma said in mixed English and Japanese.

"Echizen, where are you going?" Momo asked. Everyone turned their attention to Ryoma.

"To a hospital," Ryoma simply replied.

The others looked at him strangely and some even smirked because they thought Ryoma was worried about 'his little Ryuzaki'.

They didn't know how right they were.

* * *

Sakuno was staying in the hospital for a couple of minutes at most. She decided to take a nap and didn't notice she had been asleep for an hour. The other nurses didn't want to disturb her so they let her sleep.

Sakuno slowly opened her eyes. She was still a bit groggy. One she was up, she looked around for the clock but instead, she found Ryoma sitting in the chair, asleep.

'_R-Ryoma-kun is here!?'_ Sakuno thought. She stared at Ryoma's sleeping face. She couldn't help but feel so embarrassed. He looked so peaceful like an angel. Unfortunately, Ryoma was not known for any 'angelic' deeds.

Sakuno took a deep breath, got out of bed, and headed towards Ryoma. She took small, subtle steps. She didn't know why but she wanted Ryoma's peaceful face implanted in her mind before she sees his normal, bored look.

She was now only a few inches away from him. She paced around a bit, wandering what to do next. _'Calm down Sakuno. He's your long time crush and you don't want him to hate you so just don't do anything and wake him but…this is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I will probably never catch him like this ever again…'_ Sakuno blushed.

Sakuno took a deep breath and inched her face closer to his. She was so close. Their lips were only centimeters apart. Sakuno backed away at the last second. _'I can't do it!!! I'm so spineless!'_ Sakuno mentally cried. She turned around to sulk a bit.

She then felt some hands roaming around her body. _'I-Is that Ryoma-kun!?'_ She thought. Those hands pulled her close. She could feel Ryoma's breath on her neck.

"Karupin…" Ryoma muttered in his sleep.

"E-Eh? I'm not Karupin!" Sakuno tried to squirm away but Ryoma had an iron grip. Ryoma continued hugging Sakuno, thinking that she was Karupin. Oh, how wrong he was.

Sakuno's head resembled that of a tomato. She couldn't think at all and she was too embarrassed to move or even wake Ryoma up. '_Is God punishing me?'_ Sakuno asked herself. She tried once again to release herself from Ryoma but failed miserably.

"What's wrong Karupin…?" Ryoma mumbled. Sakuno pouted. She was being mistaken for Ryoma's pet cat, the one he loves a lot. Sakuno was a bit jealous of that cat. Once she was Ryoma's good friend, she got a chance to visit his house. Of course, she would only go because of homework purposes yet whenever she went, Karupin was always first priority.

'_Mou, I can't believe I'm getting jealous over a cat…'_ Sakuno blushed. She felt nervous again.

"Ryoma-kun, please let go." Sakuno tried to break free again.

"Geez, what's wrong with you Karupin?" Ryoma tightened his grip.

"I'M NOT A CAT!!" Sakuno angrily yelled out.

Ryoma's eyes shot wide open and he saw Sakuno in his arms. He blinked a couple of times to make sure it wasn't a dream. Ryoma let go of Sakuno, causing her to fall down.

"Why were you in my arms?" Ryoma bluntly asked. Sakuno blushed.

"I-It w-w-wasn't m-my f-fault. Y-Y-You j-just s-suddenly grabbed m-me and h-held on to m-me very t-tightly." Sakuno stuttered. She knew she liked it but she would never admit that. Sakuno blushed a thousand shades of red and watched Ryoma's reaction.

"Ah, sorry." He said. Sakuno felt like tripping again.

'_He didn't feel anything…?'_ Sakuno was disappointed.

She didn't know Ryoma was slightly blushing and pulling his cap down to hide his embarrassment. He couldn't believe he hugged Sakuno while thinking of his little cat, Karupin. Ryoma coughed slightly and did his best to keep up his cool act.

'_Seriously, how does captain Tezuka do it? He can be stoic even though Captain Momoko hugs him all the time…he's probably a robot or something…'_ Ryoma thought to himself.

"How's your foot?" Ryoma asked. His face was still stoic and cool.

"Eh…? Um, it's fine. I just don't need to put a lot of pressure into it for a couple of days." Sakuno replied.

"Hn…Let's go." Ryoma walked out of the room. Sakuno pouted.

'_How come he's the only one who is cool?'_ Sakuno asked her self as she followed the tennis prince.

* * *

Sakuno and Ryoma were about to head home when Sakuno's cell phone rang.

"Ah, hello…?" Sakuno answered.

"Hi, Sakuno-chan! We're at Kawamura Sushi!"

"Captain Katou…? What about Nationals?"

"Don't you get it, Sakuno? We won!"

"Really!?"

Ryoma was shocked at Sakuno's sudden outburst. He didn't know she had such a powerful voice. Sakuno finished her call and smiled happily.

"What was that about?" Ryoma asked

"I got a call from Katou saying that we just won the Nationals." Sakuno smiled.

Sakuno felt a bit disappointed for missing it. She also had a bit of déjà-vu for a second. _'I'm glad we won but why do we have to go to Kawamura Sushi to celebrate…?' _Sakuno thought to herself. She had told some of the details to Ryoma because he didn't have his cell phone.

"Ano…Ryoma-kun, why didn't you bring your cell phone?" Sakuno asked.

Ryoma's eyes widened a bit. He did have his cell phone but he left it behind before going to the hospital to find Sakuno.

"I…dropped it." He lied.

"Eh…? Where…?" Sakuno asked.

"…somewhere…"

"Ryoma-kun! We need to find it! Cell phones are expensive you know."

"Ryuzaki…?"

"Yes, Ryoma-kun?"

"You talk too much."

Sakuno's spirits fell down. She was only trying to help and now her crush just said that she talks too much. Sakuno hates it when Roma does that. Ryoma, on the other hand, only said that so she wouldn't know the real reason why he didn't have his phone.

'_The only thing that's worse than Ryuzaki knowing is those idiots (Momo, Eiji, Fuji, and Inui).'_ Ryoma thought.

They both arrived at the restaurant in a short time because of their absent minded thinking. Ryoma and Sakuno entered in together. The others blew wolf whistles at the two. Ryoma found them to be ten times more annoying than usual. Sakuno only flushed in embarrassment.

Sakuno and Ryoma sat at a far corner so they wouldn't be disturbed as chaos was flying all over the restaurant, mainly because of Yumi, Eiji, Momo, and a bit of Natsume.

"Ne, didn't you say you were going to tell me something after you won the nationals?" Ryoma asked, suddenly remembering.

"E-Eh…? Ah, y-yeah…" Sakuno blushed when she suddenly remembered her promise. Ryoma sat there. He was getting impatient.

'_What does she want to say? It's got to be important to have to wait this long for it.'_ Ryoma thought.

"Ryoma-kun…Actually, I…"

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**A/N: I'm so sorry! I won't be doing the rest of the tennis-related chapters (mainly because I got lazy!!) I'm so sorry! But I'll add more romance okay? So please forgive me!**

**Please leave a review. ^ ^**


	9. Discussions: The Boys

**A/N: Hope you like this chap! ^ ^**

**Warning: RyoSaku romance in the beginning. Mostly crack and randomness for the rest of the chap.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own POT **

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"Ryoma-kun…Actually, I…" Sakuno stopped. She didn't know how to continue.

'_What should I say!? Do I say like or love? I love Ryoma-kun but what if I come too strong? Wait, is this even the right place to confess?'_ Sakuno's mind was in a jumble.

"Um…I uh…" Sakuno blushed.

Ryoma felt a bit strange. The room was quiet, too quiet in fact. He looked past Sakuno to see the upperclassmen grinning or snickering silently at them (save for Tezuka, Usio, and Natsume). Ryoma sent frightening death glares. Each of them innocently whistled in response.

Sakuno also noticed the sudden quietness and decided that it would probably be better to tell him somewhere else. "U-Um…can we talk outside?" She asked.

"We can't you say it here?" Ryoma asked.

"Idiot! Just go outside with her!" Momoshiro yelled out.

Ryoma sighed. He thought that Momoshiro was somewhat better at handling girls so he followed Sakuno outside. Ryoma just stood there with his hands in his pockets looking bored. Sakuno fidgeted nervously with her face as red as apples.

"Um…Ryoma-kun…?"

"Hn…?"

"Um well, you see, I…I lo-…"

"Sakuno-chan!"

Yumi went out of the restaurant and glomped Sakuno. Sakuno was coughing. She needed air and Yumi's killer hug was not helping at all. In fact, it was only making it harder to keep her life.

"Y-Yu…mi-sa…n, I c…an't…breathe…!" Sakuno managed to choke out.

"Sakuno-chan! Natsume is being mean and-….OMG Sakuno-chan is dying!!" Yumi freaked out. Ryoma's eyes widened. He was overtaken by shock so much that he couldn't move.

"Ne, shouldn't you get off her?" Ryoma asked. Despite the situation, he was still cool and calm.

"Wah, okay!" Yumi got off and tended to Sakuno. Ryoma sighed. She was just too troublesome. Ryoma walked to the unconscious Sakuno and gave her a piggy-back ride.

"I'll be taking her home. **Don't** tell the others." Ryoma started to walk away.

"But what do I say then!?"

"We went to different places." Ryoma replied before slowly fading away down the street. Yumi rushed inside.

"Err…O'chibi went home and Sakuno-chan went to buy some groceries." Yumi said.

"Did she confess?" Sakamoto asked.

Most of them leaned forward for the answer. Yumi nervously looked around. She knew that she was the problem. She knew that Sakuno didn't confess because of her interruption.

"Err…O'chibi left before Sakuno could finish." Yumi lied.

"What!? That little-…I'll teach him something later!" Momoshiro yelled out.

"Fshuu, shut up, idiot. You shouldn't meddle in other people's lives. That just makes you nosy." Kaido said.

"What did you say, viper!?"

"I said 'shut up, idiot'. Didn't you hear me?"

"You!"

They were at each other's collars, looking like they would bite the other's head off. Before Tezuka could say anything, Airi tried to calm Kaido down while Usio smacked the back of Momoshiro's head.

"Maybe that'll knock some sense into you." Usio said.

"That's a lame pun." Momoshiro replied. Usio just hit him again.

It was a strange day.

* * *

On the rooftop at school the next day, three girls were eating lunch. Sakamoto, Emi, and Katou were having a short chat before the meeting about their crazy discussions would begin.

"Ah, meetings are so much fun." Emi said.

"Why can't I lead them?" Katou asked.

"Because there are many things that you don't get…" Sakamoto sighed.

"Oh yeah, I just remembered something that my mom taught me." Katou said.

"What's that?" Emi asked.

"People pop cherries."

Sakamoto and Emi dropped their egg rolls they were about to eat. They stared directly at Katou, unbelieving. Has their dense, clueless, innocent best friend finally matured?

"You just grab a hammer and smash them!" Katou smiled. She imitated how her mother smashed cherries. Emi laughed out loud while Sakamoto smiled. This was Katou they were talking to.

"B…but why does your mom…'pop' cherries?" Emi asked, unable to contain her laughter.

"Cause she hates cherries for some reason. I don't know why though."

Ironically enough, Katou was eating a couple of cherries herself. Sakamoto and Emi continued to contain their laughter. Katou was just too funny.

"Katou?" Sakamoto asked when she recovered from her Katou-makes-you-laugh syndrome (A.K.A. KMYL Syndrome).

"Yes?"

"Are you an alien?" Sakamoto asked.

"I have to prove to you that I'm a girl, not a guy, and now I have to prove to you that I'm human?" Katou was dumbfounded. She always had problems with people thinking about her gender. Now her best friend was questioning her species.

"No, no, no, the correct term is 'are you human'? After all, this is Katou we're talking about." Emi smiled.

"You know, I'm right here." Katou smiled while rolling her eyes. They all smiled and then the laughs were broken by the door suddenly opening by Yumi.

"Hey!" Yumi bounced around cheerfully. Behind her were the rest of the girl regulars. They all entered and sat in a weirdly made circle.

Sakamoto and Emi were obviously the lead in this discussion. Emi and Sakamoto stood up and pulled the white board (that Sakamoto…err 'asked' for). Up on the top of the board, 'The boys' were written in big bold, underlined letters. They are obviously going to talk about their crushes or boyfriends.

"Okay, let's get started! First, we will talk about the stick up his…buns…Tezuka Kunimitsu!" Emi smiled.

"He does not have a stick up his buns! I didn't see any!" Katou retorted.

"So…you look at his buns?" Emi asked, stifling her laughter.

"Well, if there was a stick up his buns then wouldn't it be obvious to see?" Katou asked.

The other girls remained silent even though some of them wanted to burst out of their chairs and laugh till there's no tomorrow. Emi shook her head when she knew that her best friend did not get it at all.

"Anyway, any girls want to elaborate on Katou's situation?"

"What situation?"

"You still haven't confessed to him."

"Why should I confess? Kunimitsu already knows that I love him!"

"…Katou, that's your everyday-I'm-used-to-it-best-friend-love confession. That's not a real confession."

"So what?"

"And you ask why you don't lead discussions…anyway, anyone have something to say?"

"I think Captain Katou should confess already." Usio said.

"What the-…?" Katou was interrupted.

"Enough about that stick in the mud-…" Sakamoto interrupted

"Oh now, it's stick in the mud?" Katou looked bewildered.

"-…Now let's talk about Kawamura." Sakamoto continued as though she was never interrupted. Sakamoto took out her laptop and 'borrowed' projector. She projected a super sparkly, extremely handsome version of Kawamura.

"That is so not him." Natsume snorted.

"Oh, says the person who confessed but ran away every time she was about to get an answer."

"You stalker!"

"I prefer to call it science."

"And why is that…?"

"Because I'm observing my two subjects, finding data, and making a conclusion."

"In other fancy freakin words, you're stalking me and Kawamura and everyone else."

"Well, it's not my fault that you seem to enjoy his 'burning' side." Sakamoto business smiled.

Natsume's face was flushed in embarrassment. "I-I do not!"

"His 'burning' side is fun sometimes but other times I wonder what kind of trauma caused him to have split personalities at the touch of a tennis racket." Katou said.

"Maybe he's crazy!" Yumi exclaimed.

"Coming from a crazy person." Natsume rolled her eyes.

"Well said. Now let's talk about the enigma that is named Fuji Shusuke." Sakamoto drew a horrible picture of Fuji on the white board.

"That does not look like Fuji! And he's not an enigma!" Emi complained.

"Oh, of course you could tell the difference since you must get up close and personal to his beautiful face." Sakamoto smiled. The other girls grinned at Emi. Emi blushed. She knew her friends were teasing her. This was defiantly karma.

"W-We haven't done anything yet!"

"Yet…?"

The girls' grins widened. Emi, with a flushed face, sat down and lowered her head.

"L-Let's move on! We'll talk about Eiji!" Emi tried to change the subject.

"Now that I think about it, Eiji is pretty cute." Katou said.

"Aww, his 'nyaa' is so cute! I want to huge him because it reminds me of cats and I love cats!!" Yumi declared.

"Well, I think he's ruling a harem." Usio stated.

"NO!! Eiji is not cheating on me!!" Yumi hollered.

"Have you seen all those fan girls he hugs and kisses?" Sakamoto showed pictures on the projector.

"That's just showing off his cuteness! And those kisses are on the cheek!" Yumi defended.

"All right, we'll move on to another topic. Who else is cute?" Katou asked.

"Kaido." Sakamoto replied.

"Eh…? Why?" Airi was the first to ask. The other girls grinned at her. Airi blushed.

"Anyway, Kaido-_chan_ is really cute." Sakamoto smirked. Sakamoto pressed a few buttons and the projector showed a picture of Kaido happily playing with a cat. Most of the girls giggled and made side comments like 'he's really cute', 'is that really Kaido', and 'you really can't judge a book by its cover'.

"Aw Sora-chan, I didn't know you had such a nice boyfriend. And here I was worried about you." Yumi smiled.

"What are you talking about!!?" Airi blushed.

"No fighting unless you want to try my new egg surprise." Sakamoto smiled as she picked up a sandwich dripping with some neon green goop.

"Ah!! Sora-chan, that goop is glowing! Sakamoto found an alien and mashed it into a sandwich!" Yumi got up and ran away.

The girls stared at the door. They could still hear Yumi's loud screech even though it was slowly going away. The girls remained silent and continued to stare and the door. Yumi came back after five solid minutes of shocking the whole entire school.

"Um…is school over?" Emi asked.

"I don't really know." Airi replied.

"Eh, whatever, I need to go polish my bike." Natsume got up. Sakamoto lifted up her sandwich.

"Leaving so soon?" Sakamoto business smiled. Natsume sat back down, fearing for her life.

"I swear, Sakamoto, your sandwiches remind me of Inui juice." Emi said.

"Have you even tried it?" Sakamoto asked.

"Yes, Fuji highly recommended it. I thought he was trying to kill me!"

"So that's why you were having that spaz attack on the phone." Katou said.

"I thought we were friends, pals, and amigos!" Emi faked her crying.

"Whoa, whoa, Emi, I don't speak French!" Yumi exclaimed.

"Yu-chan…that's Spanish…" Airi corrected.

"I knew that!"

"Okay, let's go home before the ambulance comes from Yumi's screeching earlier." Katou said.

Everyone looked at Yumi. Yumi was innocently whistling away while nervously looking at the sky. Everyone smiled. They all walked out of the rooftop and headed home. That was probably one of the craziest discussions they've ever had.

At least they had a fun (correction: fun**ny**) time.

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**A/N: Holy cheesecake! 99 reviews! I love you guys and thanks a lot for the reviews!**

**Please leave a review. ^ ^**


	10. Second Chances: Natsume and Usio

**A/N: Hope you like this chap! ^ ^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own POT **

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Natsume was standing right there in front of his shoe locker. She was standing in front of Kawamura's shoe locker to be exact. Natsume bit her lip. She wondered how she was going to do this. _'Why do I keep running away??? I never ran when I was beating the crap out of those other guys in my days as a Yankee…' _Natsume thought.

'_Okay, just stand right here and wait!'_ Natsume stood firmly implanted on the spot she was standing on. She kept on saying things like 'courage' and 'don't back down' in her mind over and over again.

"Natsume-san…?"

Natsume jumped. It was now here. Kawamura was standing a few inches away from her, walking with Fuji, Oishi, and Eiji. Natsume coughed.

"I told you to call me Natsume." She said.

"Ah, sorry." Kawamura rubbed the back of his head shyly.

"Anyway, I need to talk to you." Natsume regained her courage.

Oishi blushed, Eiji seemed a bit clueless, and Fuji chuckled. They (well 2 out of 3) got the message already and started to leave. "We'll head out first." Fuji smiled.

"Nyaa, why do we have to leave?" Eiji asked as Fuji dragged him away and Oishi began his talk about how they should leave those two alone for a while. Once they were gone, it became silent. Natsume couldn't take it any longer and started to talk first.

"Work has been pretty busy, right?" Natsume asked.

"Yeah, I had to help my dad make some extra sushi." Kawamura replied.

"Ah, I see…"

It then became silent again. Natsume was almost dying of curiosity. She had been cowering every time Kawamura tried to talk to her. She didn't want to hear the answer because she wasn't prepared but now she was totally prepared at least in her opinion she was.

"Okay, enough of going around the topic. Kawamura, I'm ready to hear your answer." Natsume was nervous since she's never done anything like this ever in her life. She prepared herself but it made her look like she was glaring at Kawamura.

Kawamura laughed in a modest manner. Natsume blushed. She already sensed that something was wrong. "Ah, forget it!" Natsume ran away again.

"N-Natsume!?" Kawamura just stood there. He was thinking about what to. He was thinking whether or not he should chase her or stay there.

"Taka-san, you forgot this." Fuji popped out of nowhere and handed Kawamura his racket.

"Ah, thank you, Fuji… BURNING!! GET BACK HERE, NATSUME!!" Kawamura chased after her in his 'burning' mode. Natsume turned around when she heard his suddenly loud voice and paled.

"Who gave you a racket!?" Natsume was afraid to stop so she ran even faster. Kawamura in his burning mode was unstoppable. He persisted even when Natsume was running through hard spots in the school. She was now afraid of Kawamura.

"Taka-san, regain your sanity and let go of that racket!!!"

"BURNING!"

Natsume's efforts were useless. She stopped running and turned around. Kawamura was charging right at her. Natsume broke out in cold sweat. She wondered if Kawamura would ram her but he stopped just in time. Natsume panted. She had never felt so threatened in life ever even when she was a Yankee.

"Taka-san, give me the racket and we can talk properly." Natsume laughed nervously.

"GREAT-O! NATSUME, I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY!"

Natsume swiped Kawamura's racket and sighed. She was now safe. "Okay, then tell me." She said. They were engulfed in the awkward silence once again. Natsume coughed on purpose as a signal for Kawamura to start. Kawamura rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Natsume/Taka-san…" They said in unison. They stopped and then smiled at each other.

"I don't really know how this dating thing goes and I work all the time…" Kawamura began.

"Well, we have at least two classes together and I work too, in the same restaurant I'll add." Natsume replied.

"Ha-ha, you're right."

Then it hit Natsume. She just remembered that she asked Kawamura out on a dare. She felt super guilty yet she maintained a fairly normal expression and waited patiently for Kawamura to answer even though she had her own idea of what he was going to say.

"I-…BURNING, OF COURSE I WILL, NATSUME!"

Natsume unconsciously gave Kawamura his racket back to speed up the process.

"MY LOVE FOR YOU IS BURNING, BABY!"

It seems as though Natsume triggered something else – something that she would be afraid of real soon. "Ha-ha…" Natsume laughed nervously and ran away.

"VICTORY!!" Kawamura chased right after her.

* * *

Usio was feeling depressed and pissed off at the same time. She couldn't believe that her rival got a boyfriend before she did. She always wanted to be better than her but it seems as though she came in second place this time.

"Usio-chan, you look very angry and depressed." Airi commented. "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing." Usio reverted back into her emotionless, calm façade. She would not falter just because of a guy and her rival.

"Usio-chan, even though you put up that face, I know you're still feeling down but tell me when you feel like talking about it." Airi then left Usio so she could have her solitude. Usio stared at her drawings. She had been making a diary, manga style. Except, she was a boy and Momoshiro was a girl. Of course she had to make some traits similar like Usio was still beautiful and Momoshiro had his personality intact.

She stopped drawing and threw her drawing diary. _'What am I doing?'_ She asked herself.

She sighed and looked down at the floor. Like stone, cold and hard, she can't feel a thing and that's what protects her. Usio had logic and pride. Those two keep her safe and never again make her shed those tears from long ago.

'_Mom…'_ Usio felt so crazy for thinking about her mother after all these years. She felt as though she was getting too emotional lately especially after meeting Momoshiro.

As Usio was lost in her thoughts, loud footsteps could be heard and they were coming closer. Usio stared at the door. Momoshiro opened the door and had on an angry expression which changed to a calmer one.

"Did you throw this?" Momoshiro asked.

"Does it look like mine?" Usio asked.

"It's yours, definitely yours."

"How do you know?"

"I recognized the drawings."

"You moron, it's impolite to look through other people's stuff and fantasize about their drawings."

"I did not fantasize and I'm not a moron!"

"Just shut up, I'm not in the mood to play with you today." Usio glared at Momoshiro.

Momoshiro just stared. He's made Usio mad before but not enough for her to be glaring at him.

"What did I do?"

Usio froze. She was doing it again – letting her emotions play first. She calmed herself down and returned to an emotionless expression. "Nothing." She replied.

'_Keep calm. You're like a doll – emotionless, unwavering, and beautiful. No one can touch you.'_ Usio thought. _'Emotions do not mean anything to something like a doll. Abandon love because it's useless.'_

"Hey, you know you not acting like yourself, not at all."

"And what do you know about me?" Once again Usio glared. "Ever since my mom died, I've become something like a doll – emotionless, unwavering, and beautiful. Kumiko Usio is born from logic and pride. Unlike an idiot like you who can stay happy, our worlds are too far apart." Usio grabbed her drawing diary and glared once more at Momoshiro.

Momoshiro sighed. "You're right, I don't get you." He pouted.

"That's why I said-…"

"What's with this 'doll' thing? I don't get it."

"Obviously, it means I'm not human."

Momoshiro flicked her forehead. Usio twitched and almost punched Momoshiro but was unsuccessful. "Dolls don't punch back or change faces like you do." Momoshiro grinned.

Usio was surprised. She didn't think that Momoshiro of all people would prove her otherwise. "Shut up! It's only because of you I'm like this! It's because I love you that I'm acting so weird and not being my usual self!" Usio shouted out.

Momoshiro stared at her in shock. The most beautiful yet coldest girl in the whole school just declared that she loved him. "I thought you liked beautiful guys!"

"Where did you hear that?"

"I err…kind of looked through your diary and saw a drawing of a beautiful guy and kind of cute girl." Momoshiro nervously laughed.

"You idiot! I'm the beautiful guy and you're the kind of cute girl!"

"What!? That's weird, definitely weird." Momoshiro slightly laughed.

"Shut up, it was so people would think of it as a manga instead of a diary."

"But still…making your self a guy…" Momoshiro kept on laughing.

"Idiot!" Usio kept on hitting Momoshiro but it all had little effect on him. After Momoshiro was done laughing, he took deep breaths to restore all the air he lost from laughing.

"Alright, I'll do it."

"What?" Usio asked.

"Go out with you."

"What!? I never confessed!"

"Yeah you did, just a few minutes ago you confessed and in your diary too." Momoshiro grinned.

"I won't accept it! I'm not going out with you!"

"Keep saying that and I'll think the opposite."

"Think whatever you like!" Usio blushed.

What a strange day.

* * *

**Omake:**

Usio had finally found **it**. After searching for days, she had finally found **it**. Usio walked around school looking for Momoshiro. She wanted to show him **it**. The first place where she looked was the cafeteria. Her intuition and knowledge so far of Momoshiro led her to pick that place first. Sure enough, she had found him happily eating with a freshman.

"Come with me." Usio dragged Momoshiro out of the cafeteria and into the halls.

"What are you doing!? I was just about to eat!" Momoshiro complained. Usio punched him and he immediately silenced himself.

"I found it he-he." Usio smirked.

"Found what?" Momoshiro asked. _'She's kind of creeping me out…'_

"This!" Usio took out something from her bag and it revealed a doll. Momoshiro stared at it.

"What about it?"

"Hold on…" Usio changed the face of the doll. "So dolls can change faces!"

'_She took it seriously…'_ Momoshiro thought he was in trouble.

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**A/N: Please leave a review. ^ ^**


	11. Second Chances: Katou the Enigma

**A/N: Hope you like this chap! ^^**

**Sorry if this update took a while.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own POT **

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Sakamoto's dictionary definition of the word: Momoko Katou

0o0o0o0o0

**Main Entry:**

Momoko Katou

**Part of Speech:**

_noun_

**Definition:**

A half Japanese half American person who can arguably be a girl (mostly mistaken for a boy)

**Synonyms:**

Enigma, from the female alien species (arguable debate. Same thing goes for finding out 'its' gender), dense weirdo, glutton, daydreamer, cross-dresser (even though 'she' doesn't know about it)

0o0o0o0o0

"Katou, stop!" Emi cried out.

It was too late. Katou, as unusually dazed as she was, had hit the tree. Her head was bleeding yet Katou just walked normally as if nothing happened.

"What's wrong with you!?" Emi dragged Katou to the nurse's office.

Once they were in there, Tezuka was sitting on the desk. He was filling out something alone. The nurse left to go get some supplies and have her coffee break. Emi giggled and pushed Katou to the bed.

"Tezuka-san, Katou hit her head and now she's bleeding! Please fix her up fast and I need to go, ja!" Emi ran away. She wanted to let them have their privacy even if they didn't know her intentions.

Tezuka shook his head and checked up on Katou. Her head was bleeding yet Katou's face was still calm and even a bit dazed. Tezuka seriously wondered why she was so passive and bizarre. Maybe it had something to do with her mother. That woman was the queen of abnormal and Katou was the enigma princess.

"How did this happen?" He asked. He needed to write down the name, time, and injury in a clip board.

"Well, I was just thinking about stuff and then I hit a pole." Katou replied.

Tezuka sighed, took off his glasses, and pinched the bridge of his nose. There was something wrong with Katou. As a best friend, he would know. Katou wasn't the absentminded type. He knew that she daydreams but not as much as today.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked while preparing all the necessities to clean up and cover the injury.

"It's nothing…" Katou said. _'Except that I'm going crazy…'_ She mentally added.

That's what the captain of the girls' tennis team, Momoko Katou, thought. It was obvious to why she would think that. She was, after all, in love with her best friend and that was a big no-no. Her face turned a bit red and her heart sped up as Tezuka silently cleaned her cut without hesitation.

Katou wanted time to stop even though her head would forever be stinging in slight pain due to the alcohol. She wanted to stay close to the man in front of her – the man she is in love with even if she didn't know in the beginning.

'_How am I supposed to confess?'_ Katou wondered. "Hey, Kunimitsu…?"

"Hn?"

"If someone asked you out…would you go out with them?"

"No."

"…what if it was someone you liked?"

"No."

"…Why?"

Tezuka sighed. Katou was really acting rather odd. Was it because of the wound on her head? Did she really hit herself that hard? "This is high school. I have my studies, college, and team to worry about. There's no more room for anything else." He replied. His words cut her deep.

'_What about me?'_ was her automatic thought.

"I see…well, I feel better! Thanks Kunimitsu!" Katou hugged Tezuka in a second and then ran away.

Tezuka was puzzled. He always understood Katou but today she seemed way off even more than usual. Maybe it was that time of the month…? Tezuka shook his head and put the supplies away.

* * *

Katou was mixing her food together. She wasn't focused at all today – her mind drifted in la-la land in all of her classes, almost blind when taking to people, and even having the ability to trip on smooth surface. She wasn't even eating her food and that was the most shocking.

"Uh…Katou…?" Emi spoke up.

"Hn…?" Katou somewhat replied.

"You uh…put soy sauce in your chocolate pudding…"

"Oh…yeah, I watched that show too…"

"I wasn't saying anything about a show…"

Silence.

"Katou…?" Sakamoto asked.

"Hn…?" Katou answered in an unusual monotone.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Can you swim deep into the ocean while staying on shore?" Katou asked all of a sudden.

Emi raised an eye brow and Sakamoto narrowed her eyes at Katou. What she was thinking had to be serious to try and hide it in a confusing question. Sakamoto had her guess. She knew what Katou meant. Katou was asking if she could maintain the relationship but go deeper than that.

"That is impossible." Sakamoto said.

"Sakamoto!" Emi also knew what they were talking about. She knew what Katou was asking.

"I'm not sugar coating my words. You already know the answer, Katou."

Katou stared at her messed up plate. She wasn't really hungry anymore.

Unknown to them, Tezuka was glancing in their direction. Katou not eating…? Something was definitely wrong.

* * *

After school, Katou had canceled practice. Nationals were over yet there was something else that she wanted to win over. She wondered how much she would change if she told him. She doesn't want to run away anymore.

'_Come on, your not like your usual self. Just go tell him, if he rejects, then always remember the happy moments we shared together.' _Katou stared at the sky. She had her resolve. She wouldn't wait any longer to tell him.

Katou walked all the way to the boys' courts. She watched as Tezuka finished his match with Momoshiro in a blink of an eye. Katou smiled and waved at Tezuka when he looked her way. She motioned for him to come over to her. Tezuka walked over to Katou, thinking that she was weirder than usual – and still thinking she may be having that time of the month.

"Hn…?"

"Hey, Kunimitsu, can you come with me fore a while?" Katou asked.

Practice was over so he was free. "Hn." Tezuka agreed and followed Katou.

Katou lead Tezuka all the way to the rooftop. Katou stared at the azure sky with all the fluffy looking clouds. She wondered about many things. How would she be affected? How would Tezuka be affected? Would she be successful? There was only one way to know.

"Katou…?" Tezuka noted her long silence.

"Hey, Kunimitsu, can you touch the sky while keeping your feet on the ground?" Katou asked, still staring at the sky.

Tezuka thought Katou's behavior was getting stranger every second. Tezuka had been glancing her way just to check up on her. She didn't seem to be getting better.

"That is impossible." Tezuka replied.

Katou laughed and maintained her smile. "I knew you would say that." Katou took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. Katou turned around and faced Tezuka.

"Kunimitsu, what's the phrase that you always say to the regulars?"

"Don't let your guard down."

Katou snatched Tezuka's glasses. Tezuka's vision went blurry and he couldn't see much. Katou's hand covered Tezuka's eyes and then he felt something soft press against his lips. After two seconds, Katou removed her hand and smiled. "I love you, Kunimitsu, more than a friend." She whispered to his ear.

Katou backed up two feet away from Tezuka. "You let your guard down, captain." Katou stuck out her tongue. She wore Tezuka's glasses which made everything seem blurry in her vision. Katou laughed and returned Tezuka's glasses.

"See ya!" Katou ran away, leaving no time for Tezuka to respond.

Katou ran as fast as she could. She headed towards the girls' restroom without stopping for even a second. She went inside, got into one of the stalls, and let her feet give away. Katou covered her mouth to prevent herself from panting too heavily. Her face was flushed and her heart was pounding.

'_Is this what it's like to confess?'_ Katou wondered.

* * *

The next day, Katou felt light, happy, and normal. She was practically glowing rays of sun shine when she got to practice. The girl regulars were either freaked out, happy for her, or wanted to gag.

"Captain…?" Yumi asked.

"Yes…?" Katou spoke as if she was high.

"Uh…did Wonder Boy ask for your hand in marriage or something?"

"Wonder Boy…?"

"Tezuka!"

"Nope!" Katou smiled.

The others were thinking that Katou might have gone crazy. That was the only thing they thought would make Katou so happy. Katou was like the second sun – radiating all over the place. Sakamoto walked up to Katou.

"Katou, you seem happy." Sakamoto commented.

"I am happy!" Katou smiled.

"I see…can you ask Tezuka-san something for me?"

"Okay…"

"Ask him why a certain slow-witted diminutive bunny is intoxicated in glee."

"Are you guys doing a science project together?" Katou almost did not understand Sakamoto.

"…yes, something like that." Sakamoto business smiled.

"Okay, I'll ask." Katou then headed towards the boys' courts.

The other girls were staring at her. She just ditched practice and right in front of them too. Seriously, what was wrong with Katou?

Katou, completely oblivious to what the others were thinking, just strolled all the way to the boys' courts and started her hunt to find Tezuka. She spotted him playing a match with Kaido in court B. There was some difficulty but Tezuka still managed to win. Kaido had improved a lot, Katou noted.

Katou waited for practice to be over. She just stood there and watched matches for twenty minutes. When it was finally over, she waved at Tezuka. Tezuka was a little tense though he would never show it being the famous stoic man he is. He thought a lot about yesterday. He wondered if he dreamt it all up?

Tezuka walked over to Katou. Katou just smiled but she noticed, from body language, that Tezuka seemed guarded, more than usual.

"Kunimitsu is something wrong?" Katou asked.

"Hn…" Tezuka said slower than usual.

"What is it?"

"Yesterday, did you confess?" Tezuka asked, straight-forward as always.

"Of course I did, Kunimitsu. I love you more than a friend." Katou smiled. She not only confessed once but twice.

Tezuka didn't know what to say. Katou was his best friend yet he couldn't go out with her especially when he was choosing which college to go to, study for them, and stay in them. He wouldn't even have time for tennis. That's why he's playing as much as he could now.

"Katou, I don't have time for relationships-…"

"I know. I never said we'd go out. I only said that I'm in love with you."

Thrice, Katou confessed not once, not twice but thrice. Third time is supposed to be the charm right?

"Then why tell me now?"

"Because I'm moving to America for college. I'll be staying there for at most, 4 years. I just wanted to let you know before someone else might take you away." Katou's lips lightly brushed Tezuka's. "So I want to ask, can we date when we go out of college?"

Tezuka thought about it for a second. He never knew Katou would plan this all out. He didn't even know she was going to America for college. He was glad to be the first to know and he felt a bit empty hearing about it. But Tezuka, being Tezuka, would never show it.

"Ah." He agreed. Katou smiled and gave him a hug.

"See you later, Kunimitsu!"

Katou strolled all the way back to the girls' courts. This time she seemed like her normal self – smiling in a simple manner, walking casually, and having that nice air about her. This time, the girls wondered if it was that time of the month.

"Captain?" Sakuno called out. She was going to ask about her behavior today.

"Ah, Sakuno, I have something to tell you."

"Yes…?" Sakuno wondered if Katou was going to talk about her form. She was a bit off today but that was only because Ryoma seemed to be colder than usual. Sakuno found out later that his pet cat, Karupin, was shaved bald because he had an argument with his 'old man'.

"Don't give up." Katou patted her head.

"Eh…?" Sakuno thought about what Katou meant. _'Was she talking about my form…?'_

"Hey, Ryuzaki." An arrogant voice called from behind her. Sakuno turned around and saw Ryoma.

"Ah, yes, Ryoma-kun?"

"Ryuzaki-sensei told me to walk you home."

"Oh, okay." Sakuno felt a bit disappointed. "But…you don't have to if you don't want to…"

"I want to, now walk." Ryoma said. Sakuno obeyed.

'_Wait…he said _I want to_…that means he wants to walk with me.'_ Sakuno blushed and gained her hopes up. She now knew what Katou meant.

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**A/N: Please leave a review. ^^**


	12. IT is here

_**Important Notice**_**: **Yes, underlined, bolded, and italicized. School is starting up with me so I'm just going to finish this story and my other two unfinished fics and then I won't make any more multi-chaps until the holidays. But I will be making one-shots. I'm sorry. I love you guys and thanks a lot for supporting my fics especially since this one was just for fun/crack purposes. I might make another "Princess of Tennis" sort of thing but it's going to be a lot more complex and thought out (and have depth). (The OCs won't be the same either)

**Note to the flamer:** Yo, I know you don't like my pairings and I don't really care because what's the point in reading something that you don't like or flaming it just because you don't like my pairings? That's just immaturity. You can hate my pairings, you can say whatever you want about them but I will not stop this fic just because you don't like it. I will keep writing it until the last chapter. So enjoy your anonymous flame fest until this fic is done. Bye! :D

**Disclaimer: I don't own POT **

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Sakuno couldn't believe it. There it was right in front of her face. Tomoka was shouting out and getting all excited over it. There was a Prom poster right in front of school.

"Oh, my gosh, Sakuno! One of us has to take Ryoma-sama to the prom!" Tomoka squealed.

"T-Tomo-chan…I uh…" Sakuno stuttered. She had one huge problem.

"Yes, Sakuno?"

"I…can't dance…" Sakuno whispered. She hoped Tomoka didn't hear it.

"WHAT!? Every girl knows how to dance! It's like girl code!" Tomoka yelled in terror. Her best friend didn't know how to dance. That would be a problem. "How do you expect Ryoma-sama to fall in love with you!?"

"Tomo-chan!" Sakuno complained. She wanted her best friend to be a little quieter instead of freaking out and yelling everything she would say.

"Can we talk about this later, Tomo-chan?" Sakuno almost begged.

"Fine but I have to teach you how to dance." Tomoka grinned. She would have fun at least.

Sakuno sighed. How could a wallflower like her possibly aim for the limelight?

* * *

Sakuno mixed her rice with her vegetables. She wasn't really paying much attention. Sakuno was thinking about Ryoma. She didn't think such an event would shake her life. She also struggled with keeping her friend sane _and_ normal. That was a hard job.

"Sakuno, we have to ask Ryoma. One of us needs to take him to the prom." Tomoka said with a dreamy expression on her face. She dreamt of asking Ryoma, he would say yes, she would have the night of her life, and Sakuno would be throwing the confetti in their wedding.

"Tomo-chan, there are lots of other, prettier, girls that are going to ask him." Sakuno broke Tomoka out of her ridiculous daydreaming.

"Lighten up, Sakuno. Ryoma-sama is mean and cold and quiet. There's no way he would accept going to the prom with other girls." Tomoka suddenly got serious.

"…then what makes you think he'll go with us?"

"Uh…Well…he…we…We're pretty!"

"Tomo-chan…" Sakuno sighed. Sometimes Tomoka really needed to think out things first.

"Don't worry Sakuno! After school, we're going to take dance classes!" Tomoka bounced back.

"But Tomo-chan, I can't dance." Skauno attempted to argue.

"You'll never learn how to dance with that attitude and Ryoma-sama will never notice you if you stay like this!"

Sakuno didn't even want to argue with Tomoka. In fact, She couldn't and her shy nature prevented her from doing so. Sakuno gave in and actually listened to Tomoka. She agreed to go take the classes. Now, all that was left was to ask Ryoma himself.

* * *

Sakuno was nervous. She didn't know how Tomoka convinced her to ask the prince to prom or take dance lessons. Sakuno could never refuse, even if she wanted to. People just had more power over her. Now here she was, fidgeting nervously at the boys' courts.

Oishi was the first to notice the girl and he walked over to her in a calm manner. "Ryuzaki-san…? What are you doing here?" Oishi asked.

"W-well…I-I w-w-wanted to t-talk to R-R-Ryoma-kun." Sakuno blushed. It was one big step for her – attempting to ask Ryoma to the dance that is.

"Echizen…? He went for some ponta a while back."

"I-I see…then I'll come back for Ryoma-kun later." Sakuno heaved a small sigh of relief. At least she wouldn't ask him today.

"What do you want?" A familiar cocky tone said.

"Echizen," Oishi smiled. "Ryuzaki-san wants to talk to you."

"What is it?" Ryoma asked. Sakuno slowly turned around and started to sweat. It was now the moment she would ask him to the dance. "Ryoma-kun! I uh…" Sakuno's courage was crumbling too quickly. "Well, I was just going to say…did you get your ponta?" Sakuno changed what she wanted to say. She couldn't ask.

Ryoma just stared at her. _'Why would she even ask when the ponta is right on my hand? Weird girl…'_ Ryoma thought. "Can't you see I'm holding it, Ryuzaki?" Ryoma pointed out.

"O-Oh! Right!" Sakuno blushed in embarrassment. _'Stupid, stupid, stupid!'_ Sakuno cursed at herself. "I'm just going to leave…" Sakuno started to walk off.

"Sakuno!!" A voice screeched. Sakuno turned around to see her best friend charging right at her and then giving her a big hug. "Sakuno, I'm so proud of you! You finally asked Ryoma-sama out to the prom!"

Oishi and Ryoma gave Tomoka blank stares and Sakuno's face was flushed. "T-Tomo-chan, I-I didn't a-ask him." Sakuno admitted.

"What!?"

"Tomo-chan, please calm down."

"Hey, Ryoma-sama, will you go to the prom with Sakuno!?"

'_Tomo-chan, why!?'_ Sakuno was waiting for Ryoma to say no. She knew that the lad didn't like to take part in those kinds of events. In fact, he would avoid them as much as possible.

"Alright." Ryoma sipped his ponta and went back to the courts. Sakuno's mouth dropped, Tomoka squealed in delight for her friend, and Oishi followed Ryoma to give him a lecture.

"You can go to the dance with Ryoma-sama, kyaa!!!"

"R-Right." Sakuno was almost bursting with happiness inside. She felt like a princess.

* * *

**Omake:**

Just before practice ending in the courts, Ryoma went to go get a can of his favorite drink, grape ponta. Once he got his hands on one, he took one long sip. He thought he drank a bit of Inui's juice and he wanted to wash the taste out.

"Hello, Echizen."

Ryoma looked around for the voice. It was a girl. Not just any girl though. It was an upper classman, Miharu Sakamoto.

"What do you want?" Ryoma's tone was a bit annoyed.

"Oh, you want to make this quick then you'll have to follow what I say." Sakamoto smirked.

"I don't listen to orders." Ryoma got up and started to walk. He knew Sakamoto is about as creepy as Inui and Fuji put together. He also had his pride.

"I'll give you a month supply of ponta."

Ryoma skidded to a quick stop. "And…?" He pressed. If he was going to get something, he might as well take advantage of it.

"Five months of ponta. Just take Sakuno to the prom."

"Great, get me a new can." Ryoma ordered. It was just a stupid prom, no big deal. All he had to do was take his best friend, Sakuno, to the prom and he would get his free ponta for five months.

Simple, right?

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**A/N: Please leave a review. ^^**


	13. Decisions: Should you go to IT?

**Note to fans/readers/reviewers: **I really need to make these chaps faster. I think I'm losing you guys. But anyway, I hope you enjoy. (Special thanks to anonymous reviewer "GOODLUCK…")

**Disclaimer: **I don't own POT

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Die.

They should all go to hell and burn. Usio disliked men too much. She would've gone on a killing spree if it weren't for Airi but she was so close to doing one. All day, guys were flocking towards her, locking on their prey. It was sickening.

She needed a scapegoat, an idiot who isn't much of her fan. She couldn't take it; her fans were driving her insane. _'They think that I would actually go with them to the prom? They're all idiots.'_ Usio thought as she walked down the halls.

"Hey, Usio."

His voice and his tone reminded Usio of a certain moron she liked very much. But, of course, she would never admit it. "What do you want, idiot?" Usio asked, calmly.

"I'm not an idiot! Can't you be a little nicer to me?" Momo made a face.

"Why should I…" Before Usio could say anymore, she had an idea. "You will take me to the prom." Usio stated. She didn't give him an option, it was a command.

"What?" Momo raised a brow. He couldn't believe that his own girlfriend commanded him to go with her instead of ask. "Aren't you supposed to ask nicely?"

"Did you forget who I am?" Usio pointed at herself. Momo rolled his eyes. "I'll take you there, princess." Momo stifled his laughter. Usio glared, every guy tried to flatter her that way but Momo's way was more of a joke.

But she wouldn't mind that name…as long as he was the prince.

* * *

"Are you going to ask Tezuka to the prom?" Emi asked, walking down the halls with Katou by her side. Katou smiled and patted Emi's head.

"No way." She replied.

Emi's mouth gaped, forming a perfect 'O'. Katou wouldn't ask Tezuka? What was wrong with her? "But Katou, this is a special night." She persisted.

"Tezuka doesn't like dances and I don't either. I have to put make-up and a dress-…" Katou was cut.

"Why can't you be a normal girl!?" Emi cried. Katou wasn't even a normal human being – irregular eating, sleeping in high places like a cat, and thinking varying from child to a wise woman. Emi felt like she was PMSing next to Katou.

"I just don't think I should force someone to go to something they obviously don't enjoy. Besides, I'll help set up the prom night. Tezuka, the other council members, and I will be working to make the prom a success. It's not possible for us to go and have fun." Katou pointed out.

Emi huffed in annoyance. She wished Sakamoto was around, she would've done something about it. Problem was that Sakamoto was somewhere else. Emi couldn't find her anywhere.

"Fine. I'm going to the library then. See ya." Emi waved.

"Later." Katou smiled and walked the other way.

Emi turned towards the library. Lately she's been feeling so nervous. She wanted to ask Fuji to go to the dance but she froze and asked for something else. Feeling pathetic, Emi slumped to her regular spot in the library. "Don't guys usually ask? So what am I worried about?" Emi mumbled, engrossing herself into a romance novel. She had really gotten into them when she started liking Fuji.

"Saa, you seem to be immersed in your reading." The genius smiled. Emi twitched. The man moved silently like he was a spy on a mission.

"I'm…enjoying myself. Reading let's me jump into a whole new world." Emi smiled pleasantly.

"I see." Fuji smiled.

Silence followed after Fuji's statement. Emi felt anxious. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and turned paranoid. _'Should I ask him…? What if he says no? But aren't guys the ones who are supposed to ask…?'_ Emi thought. She almost twitched, nerves getting to her.

Fuji, noticing this, patted Emi's head. "What's wrong?" he asked, his tone mixed with slight worry.

"I-It's nothing important." Emi replied, looking away.

Fuji sighed and frowned. "Emi-ko, you don't trust me?"

"I trust you. I just don't think what I have to say is impor-…" Emi got cut by Fuji.

"Emi-ko, you should tell me these things."

Emi took a deep breath. "Well…will you go to the dance with me?" Emi's voice squeaked. She was highly nervous. Fuji just chuckled. That was her only problem?

"I think the guys are supposed to ask." He teased.

"Oh, right, just forget about it then…" Emi blushed. She felt so embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Emi." Fuji apologized. "Let's go to the dance then." Fuji smiled.

Emi beamed at him. "Okay." She grinned.

* * *

"Oh my god! Sora-chan!" Yumi jumped on top of Airi. Airi tumbled down to the floor, bringing Yumi down with her. Feeling crushed, Airi lifted her head and coughed.

"Yu-chan, are you trying to kill me?" Airi asked through a rough tone.

"No, I just wanted to tell you some good news!" Yumi sang.

"Does that include having to attempt killing me?" Airi asked, pushing Yumi off and rising to dust herself off.

"Yes, it does," Yumi bounced back up and grinned. Airi sighed. "Eiji asked me out to the dance! I feel so happy." Yumi danced.

"Right, good for you." Airi clapped in an unenthusiastic manner.

"What about you, Sora-chan?" Yumi asked. Airi blinked.

"What about me?" She asked, confused.

"Oh, you know," Yumi giggled. "Aren't you going to ask Snake-chan?" she winked. Airi's face flushed.

"H-He's…not into this sort of stuff." Airi started walking away from Yumi. She knew Yumi would try to do something crazy later on.

"Come on," Yumi complained. "The guy should take you there! Every girl's dream is to go to the dance. It's like…a special night for couples!" She exclaimed.

"We don't have to go to a fancy dance. I'm satisfied with him going out with me." Airi smiled.

"You need to be more selfish." Yumi huffed.

"You need to be less selfish." Airi argued. Yumi only pouted in defeat.

* * *

Amane peeked from the corner. She was observing her cousin. Why…? She did it because Sakamoto was asking Inui out to the dance. Amane admired her cousin for that but their conversation…was not normal.

"Inui, good afternoon." Sakamoto smiled.

Inui turned around and acknowledged her. "Yes, Sakamoto?"

"You are going to the dance with me." Sakamoto stated. She didn't _ask_, she _commanded_ it.

"I was going to attend even if you didn't ask me." Inui pushed up his glasses.

"Oh, gathering more data?" Sakamoto asked.

"I am a data gatherer." Inui smiled. The two silently laughed, emitting a creepy aura. Amane, alarmed, ran away. The two scared her a lot. She wasn't sure if she was going to the dance with Oishi anymore.

* * *

Bustling tables, sharp cuts, and noisy people annoy Natsume to no end. She loved her job. She just hated how noisy everything was. But of course, not many people go to their job because they like it. They go because of the money. Natsume needed money because her stupid dad bet all of his near the time of the rent.

'_That bastard gets no dinner tonight._' Natsume thought angrily while cleaning tables. She scared a few customers in doing so.

Kawamura's dad sighed. He just lost a few customers. Kawamura, on the other hand, apologized for Natsume, resulting in a few customers stay.

"Natsume, are you alright?" Kawamura asked. Natsume looked up to him and grunted.

"Yeah, I guess." Natsume finished cleaning.

"But you seem…angry."

"…I see…"

Silenced engulfed the two. One felt irritated at her rival and one tried to decipher the other. _'Usio…princess…how corny yet she's still got someone.'_ Natsume rubbed the tables harder. _'I won't lose!'_ She broke the table.

"N-Natsume!" Kawamura exclaimed.

"Huh…? Oh shit! I'm sorry, Taka-san. I'll pay for it!" Natsume panicked slightly. Now she would have to work more.

"I-It's alright. You probably need a break. I'll take over."

"Thanks…" Natsume dragged herself out, depressing aura looming over her. Kawamura felt bad but he stayed inside.

"Takeshi, go comfort your girlfriend." His father winked.

"S-She's not…" Kawamura rubbed the back of his head bashfully. His father found out.

"I may be old but these eyes can tell. Now go."

Kawamura bowed and walked outside to go find Natsume. Natsume sat with her back against the wall, gazing at the sky. Boredom surfaced on her face. She thought about working overtime at her second job. Luckily, she did have enough brains to open a bank account but those were for emergencies. _'Damn old fart, I'm going to kick his ass when I get home.' _She thought.

"Natsume, are you alright?"

Shifting her gaze to Kawamura, her face softened a bit. "Yeah, I'm just…tired." She admitted.

"I see…" Kawamura paused. "Natsume…?"

"Yes?" Natsume stared.

"Uh…how about you shout out your frustrations?" Kawamura suggested.

"What?"

"Yeah, just grab a racket and wave it around."

"…You mean like shout out 'burning' while holding a racket?" Natsume asked, confused.

"Yeah, kind of what I do." He said.

"Alright." Natsume agreed.

After a few minutes, Kawamura told her where to find his spare rackets. For obvious reasons, he couldn't hold them himself. Once Natsume returned, she threw a racket towards Kawamura. He caught it easily and went right into his burning mode.

"BURNING! SHOUT OUT YOUR FRUSTRATIONS, BABY!" Kawamura shouted.

"B…burning…" Natsume said in a weak voice.

"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT!? BURNING! SAY IT WITH FEELING!" Kawamura encouraged.

Natsume looked at her racket and then back at Kawamura. He was trying to cheer her up in his own weird way. Natsume smiled. "Burning!" She hollered.

"Great-O!" He shouted. The two continued to shout burning. Letting out all their anger and having loads of fun doing it.

That is until they heard a fire truck alarm.

"Crap, it's the yellow men! Run for your fucking life Kawamura or else we're in deep shit!" Natsume ran, grabbing Kawamura's racket. Kawamura, finally gaining his sanity, ran with Natsume.

------------------------------------------

**A/N: Please leave a review. ^^**


	14. Determination of a Captain

**Aqua sayz: **Hey ladies and gents (if there are any gents…), I'm writing a book! Woo! I finished it a few days ago and now in an editing process. But after I'm done with that, I'll start on the sequel and look for an agent as well as a publisher. I'm so excited! But that's the reason why I don't update my fic a lot but the quality of the chapters have improved though, right? Anyway, enjoy the chap!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own POT

* * *

She took two steps forward and two steps back, three steps to the side, and twirled. Unfortunately, she tripped and clashed with the floor. She lifted herself up, rubbing her sore, red cheek. Her smooth lips formed a pout and her eyes were a bit wet. She turned her to best friend with an innocent look.

"Can I not learn to dance, please Tomo-chan?" Sakuno begged.

"Sakuno…" Tomoka dragged the word on. "You need balance in your step…or whatever the instructor said." Tomoka, Sakuno's somewhat faithful friend, aided Sakuno back to her feet.

"But…I'm not good at dancing…" Sakuno muttered, hanging her head downward.

"Then we learn in the art of dance! Be more passionate Sakuno!" Tomoka cheered. Sakuno let out a heavy sigh. She felt troubled for learning "the art of dance". She tripped, fell flat on her face, and tumbled down hard. She obtained more bruises rather than skill in every lesson.

"I'm going to call it a day, okay Tomo-chan?" Sakuno quickly made her escape. She thought about canceling. She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Ryoma but she also didn't want too many bruises just to learn how to dance.

"I'll just give up…" Sakuno sighed. "Ryoma-kun doesn't like dances either. Sakamoto-senpai must have done something…" Sakuno walked down the hall by herself.

Sakuno wandered towards the girls' tennis courts subconsciously. Her blank stare dominated her face. She thought about the girl regulars and Ryoma. She stared into the radiant glow of the orange sun.

"They…will graduate…" Sakuno whispered. She hated the thought of her upperclassmen disappearing from her view. All of them would go their separate way after they graduate. Then Ryoma…he shifts all the time. When would be the next time he would go to America and when will she see him again?

"Something wrong, Sakuno-chan?"

Sakuno snapped her head to her side. Emi winked when Sakuno locked eyes. Sakuno sighed and decided to tell Emi.

"Everyone…will leave and…Ryoma-kun…" Sakuno couldn't properly tell Emi what she wanted to say. Her thoughts weren't organized.

"Sakuno-chan, lighten up. We can't always stay together. We all eventually go our separate ways." Emi patted Sakuno on the back.

Sakuno showed a small, sad smile. They all became her friends, through the horrid training, priceless moments, and the happy times they shared. Even the thought of it not lasting forever makes Sakuno depressed.

"You know, Sakuno, you remind me a bit of Katou but you two are different." Emi continued. Sakuno looked up, surprised that the great captain Katou would resemble her in any way at all.

"But…how…?" Sakuno was speechless.

Emi smiled. "When she was in her first year of middle school, that's when she really changed…" she began.

--

_I walked all the way to Seigaku. I snuck through the gates and sprinted towards the fields. Katou told me she played against Tezuka. She asked me if I could go and I went. In the fields, not a soul was in sight. I continued to walk around._

_After looking through the fields, I couldn't find Katou. I was about to head home but a glint of light coming from the roof caught my eye. Someone with black hair looked up at the sky. The glinting object was a necklace. I instantly recognized her. Katou stood on the rooftop, gazing at the sky. I sprinted up all the stairs to the top floor. When I passed the doors, Katou's figure was right there._

"_Mou, you had me worried." I complained._

_Katou remained silent. I was about to speak again but Katou beat me to it. "Do you know how many times I played against Tezuka Kunimitsu?" She asked._

_I thought about it for one moment before answering. "I…don't know." I replied._

"_Ninety-nine times…" she paused, "and I didn't win a single one, I didn't even get a single point off of him."_

_I didn't speak at all. "So…what are you going to do?" I asked. I expected her to say that she was going to work hard and try again. I expected her to be motivated._

"_I quit tennis." She simply said._

"_What!?" I gasped. "You…tennis is your favorite sport and your quitting just because you can win over one person! Are you kidding me!?" I shouted._

"_It doesn't matter!" Katou raised her voice. "No matter what style I use…no matter how much stronger I get…" Her voice drew lower into whispers, "No matter what I do, he just wins." Katou ran past me without giving me moment to recover._

_Katou didn't play tennis for the rest of middle school._

--

"Eh!?" Sakuno was beyond shocked. Her captain…quit tennis?

"Yeah, that's why she wasn't captain of the girls' tennis team. She didn't even join." Emi nodded and sighed.

"B-but…when did she join again?" Sakuno asked.

"That's a good question. First, look over there." Emi pointed to the track team field. Sakuno turned her head to see something glint, a sliver necklace. One girl with black hair ran on the field without stopping. She kicked a rock while running which looked difficult since the girl stopped and rubbed her knees periodically.

"That's training for sharper cuts for the split step. It helps with sharper turns and faster reactions but it puts a strain to the knees." Emi explained.

"Shouldn't we stop her?" Sakuno suggested timidly. The captain seemed to be tired.

Emi shook her head. "No, Katou would just train again when we're out of sight." Emi frowned. "You know, when she went back to playing tennis, she trained ten times harder than anyone else. Her usual strength decreased. She already surpassed herself from middle school though."

"But why did she join again?"

Emi smiled. "It was…to find another captain with potential to lead the others for two more years." She replied.

Sakuno stared at Emi. She couldn't understand anything. "Did she find one?" Sakuno asked.

"Yes, she did." Emi grinned at Sakuno, "who better than our little Sakuno-chan?"

"EH!?" Sakuno managed to fall on flat ground.

"Whoa, Sakuno, you must have major skills to fall on flat surface." Emi clapped before helping Sakuno up.

"I…" Sakuno was about to comment about her falling 'skills' but trailed off.

"Mah, don't worry Sakuno. I'll tell you, just keep it a secret." Emi placed a finger over her lips.

Sakuno carefully listened closely this time. It had to be a good story.

--

_Sakamoto managed to get into the same school as Katou. I went to the same school after begging my parents. I had made a deal with them: I would live alone and pay the tuition myself. My mom was the only one worried about my decision._

_That's how I lived in my apartment by myself. I was determined to change Katou back into the girl who loved tennis. But no matter what I tried to do to persuade her, she wouldn't budge. She even didn't talk to Tezuka much anymore. She kept saying "Tezuka understands the language of tennis better than Japanese"._

_I didn't know what she meant and eventually, I gave up on persuading her. Though one day, Katou invited me to the park for fun. I giggled at her request because whenever we went to the park, the walking course we'd take ended up being near some tennis courts._

_Katou would pout and say something like "I didn't know", "it was a coincidence", or "well maybe my brain isn't working today". Even though she obviously lied to me, she enjoyed watching others play but her legs would move as though she would rather play._

"_Why don't you play against them?" I asked._

"_I gave up tennis." She huffed._

"_You miss it so why don't you play again?" I asked._

"_I said no." Katou jogged ahead of me. I caught up to her with just one quick sprint but by then, she stopped to observe something. I looked at the same thing. It was a girl playing tennis by herself. The girl was a klutz. She fell once or twice but she got back up and tried again._

_The girl wasn't that girl. At most, she was average. I looked back at Katou. She was smiling for one second then she blinked. I looked at the girl again and saw her panties. They were an innocent white color._

"_Ho…?" I grinned. "Katou, I didn't know you took a liking to girls. Well, I'm always available." I said teasingly adding a wink._

"_What are you talking about?" Katou groaned._

"_But you know it isn't normal for a girl to like other girls unless…" I paused for dramatic effect. "Katou…are you a boy!?" I exclaimed._

"_What!?" Katou's mouth opened._

"_Don't worry. We can prove you're not a boy…if you strip right now!" I pounced at her._

"_Shoot!" Katou dashed out of the way before running at top speed away from me._

"_Don't resist, Katou! I'll eventually get your pants!" Emi giggled._

"_Don't you dare!"_

_A week later Katou left me a note in my locker to go to the girls' old courts. When I arrived, Sakamoto was sitting down, eating biscuits and tea._

"_Moto-chan, why are you here?" I asked._

_Sakamoto lifted up a note similar to my own. I knew that Katou had called in a 'friend meeting'. Friend meetings were meant for discussions like "which college would we want to go to together", "what's our future job", or something similar._

"_Yo," Katou greeted, holding a racket. "I'm playing tennis again. Let's start a team." She grinned._

--

"Ah, but who was the girl…?" Sakuno asked.

Emi smiled. "It's a se~cr~et." Emi winked. She then waved good bye to Sakuno and headed towards Katou. But she stopped halfway, turned around and said, "Just a hint Sakuno: The girl had long hair in twin braids!"

Sakuno's mouth fell wide open. "S-So…that means…" Sakuno blushed furiously, "The saw my panties? That's embarrassing!" Sakuno ran all the way home to hide.

She didn't look Katou or Emi straight in the eye for a whole week.

One month later, many of the sports clubs were still going even though school would end. Captains had to choose who would be the net leader of the team. For some, the decision was easy. For others, it took a while to think about.

Katou sat on her desk in the club room. In front of her was a list of all the girls in the club from the first and second years. Katou already crossed out a few obvious names but one name stood out because with was highlighted with a question mark on top of it.

Someone knocked on the door once. Katou grunted as a sign for the person to come in. Sakamoto came in through the door and sat down on one of the seats. Emi soon came right after. The captain, vice captain, and manager were talking it through, the discussion of who will be the people in charge.

"A few of the second years prove to be promising. I cannot come to the same conclusion for the first years. Their statistics stayed the same with little improvement." Sakamoto explained.

"Yeah that's true but there aren't many second years to choose from since none of them have a leadership quality. Most of the promising third years will graduate." Emi added.

Silence engulfed the room. Each one was deep in thought. There was three second years and one first year on the girls' regular team: Airi, Usio, Natsume, and Sakuno. They weren't sure if any of them were ready.

"What do you think, Katou?" Emi asked. She noticed that the captain remained quiet through the discussion.

"Actually…there's one thing I want to do." Katou spoke. The other two listened carefully. It must have been serious for Katou to have a change in tone. "One test for all potential leaders," Katou stood up, picked her racket up and headed out. "Let's play tennis." She smiled, opening the door.

Sakuno practiced with Usio. Usio was the perfect woman to seek for spotting any weaknesses. Usio would also give plenty of advice to Sakuno and urge her to go to Sakamoto or Inui for training menus. Sakuno followed Usio's orders since they did help her improve on many things.

Right in the middle of a heated match between the two, one person called it off. "Sakuno, Usio, stop playing!" Katou barked.

Sakuno missed a shot and snapped her head in Katou's direction. The captain looked tired, black bruises appeared below her eyes yet the tone in her voice sounded like she still had plenty energy to spare.

"Why?" Usio asked as she was the first one to recover.

"You, Natsume, Airi, and Sakuno are playing a match against me, Sakamoto, Emi, or Amane. Prepare yourselves for hell." There was no mischievous smirk Sakamoto would plaster on her face or a misleading smile followed by a giggle from Emi. Instead, it was Captain Katou. Her voice, her posture, her eyes flared in serious passion. It overwhelmed Sakuno and slightly surprised Usio.

"Sakuno, you play against me. We're taking court A." Katou walked ahead. Sakuno followed. Katou's behavior was strange. It wasn't like neither of the moment Katou told Sakuno not to give up nor was it the same as her usual strong, supporting captain-like in the beginning. Something was different and more than anything, Sakuno didn't know what it was but she could understand it to a certain level.

Katou let the ball bounce a couple of times at the end of the court where the service line was. "Sakuno, how much have you learned this year?" Katou asked. She paused only for that question before bouncing the ball again.

"Eh?" Sakuno didn't understand Katou.

"How willing are you to become a leader, to take care of others, and help them grow together? How many friends did you make this year? Which upperclassmen gave you the best advice about not only tennis but life lessons as well? And…" Katou threw the ball into the air, "Have you realized that the third years won't be here next year?" She whispered. When the ball was near her range, Katou smashed it towards Sakuno's side of the court.

"15 love!" The umpire declared.

Without pausing, Katou hit another ace at Sakuno.

"30 love!"

Sakuno was frozen. Her feet were glued on to the spot. She never even thought about. It never crossed her mind. All those days, all those times, and every moment with them slowly fades from her mind.

"Goodbye, Sakuno." Katou served.

* * *

**A/N: There will be uh…one or two more chapters before the story is done. Please leave a review. ^^**


	15. One Hectic Day

**Aqua sayz: **I'm sorry for making you all wait so long but don't worry. I HAVE TWO WEEKS OFF FROM SCHOOL! It starts next week so you can expect my updates to be more (I might make more stories too for you all to enjoy) but for now, please endure! Enjoy the chapter.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own POT

Katou shuffled through papers, lots of them. She volunteered to help out with the dance so she helped plan out a few things. She was in charge of the interior decorations. "No that theme is dull" escaped from Katou's lips. The dance, it would be on tomorrow. Katou still couldn't decide if the theme she had was right.

"I'll just use a sports theme; it would make things easier for me." She muttered.

Someone knocked on the door, disrupting Katou from her work. Katou grunted, obviously too immersed in her work to care. The door creaked opened and Sakamoto entered with a clipboard.

"Go with slightly fancy theme. It's popular in America." Sakamoto commented.

"What do you want?" Katou wrote Sakamoto's suggestion down.

"Your match with Sakuno…it ended quite quickly. Care to report in?" Sakamoto smirked.

Katou narrowed her eyes at Sakamoto. She had a chance to see all of the other matches after finishing it up with Sakuno. She was impressed on how well the others could do but only two of them would take the lead.

"Sakuno is green." Katou spoke.

"…Are you sure?" Sakamoto's smirked widened. It was exactly as she expected but she thought Katou would give Sakuno 'red'.

"Usio and Airi are red. Usio is gold and Airi is silver. That's my final decision." Katou stared at her papers.

Sakamoto wrote it all out but stopped at Sakuno's name. "You do know that you will tell them about it right?" Sakamoto spoke in a sober tone. She appeared quite serious. Katou noted that Sakamoto acted a bit unusual.

"Seems like everyone's taking a liking to Sakuno, huh…?" Katou whispered, "I'll tell them. It my job to ensure that the next generation is filled with the best." Katou explained.

Sakamoto nodded and headed out. "After the dance, there's only one week left of school." Sakamoto reminded Katou just before leaving.

Katou glared at the door. Sakamoto made her point but what could she do about it? Katou slouched back and stared at the ceiling. She then looked back at her papers. "The least I can do for the second years and Sakuno is probably this dance…"

--

Tezuka had seen Katou so passionate and serious on something, something that is…girly. He wondered if she went insane.

"Katou," Tezuka acknowledged.

Katou looked up and stopped with the pink decorations in her hand. "Tezuka, the theme is fancy. Oh and…what do girls find pretty?" Katou asked.

Tezuka blinked. He couldn't believe Katou was so worried about this sort of stuff. "Katou…are you injured?" He asked, pushing up his glasses.

"No…actually, I wanted to make this dance the best night for the girls." Katou responded.

"I can't approve of that." Tezuka voiced. Katou stared at him in disbelief.

"And why not…?" Katou narrowed her eyes at him. Didn't he understand why she wanted it?

"This social function is for _everyone_ not a selected group of people. If you can't do your job then I have to pick someone more appropriate." Tezuka replied. He was still calm and cool as usual but he sounded cold to Katou.

Katou didn't argue because she knew Tezuka was right. Student council was meant to organize events for all or at least most of the students so they wouldn't complain about not having fun during school and it supposedly helps the principal as well so he wouldn't have to gain more work.

"Right…oh yeah, the theme is dress to impress." Katou reported. She walked away and threw the pink decorations into the trashcan.

Pink, what was she thinking? All the girls liked different colors anyway. "Thanks, Tezuka." She whispered but Tezuka didn't hear it, he'd already left.

--

"SAKUNO!" Tomoka shouted. "You finally improved! Didn't I say the basics are easy once you got them down?" Tomoka grinned.

"Thank you, Tomo-chan, for taking the time to help me." Sakuno smiled.

"No problem. I got nothing else to do anyway." She elbowed Sakuno, "not like my best friend who's going to the dance with Ryoma-sama." Tomoka winked.

"T-T-Tomo-chan!" Sakuno blushed heavily. "I-It's just one day and he could've gone with any girl!" Her self-confidence shrunk down to her 'normal' self.

"But he did say yes to you." Tomoka stated in a matter-of-fact tone with a huge grin plastered on her face.

"I-I already said that Sakamoto-sempai did something!" Sakuno face turned into a new darker shade of red.

"Yeah, Yeah, Sakuno. Now let's practice from the top!" The girls went into position, Tomoka danced as a boy for the slow dance and Sakuno obviously practiced as the girl counterpart. Sakuno's steps flowed but at certain parts, like turning, were a bit choppy.

"Ryoma-sama will fall in love!" Tomoka beamed at her friend. For a second, Sakuno actually believed her.

Only for a second before stuttering to Tomoka that it wasn't possible.

--

Ryoma muttered angrily to himself. Someone let out the slip that he was going with Sakuno to his old man and that idiot was going to pay tomorrow. But for now, Ryoma had to deal with his perverted father (who proclaimed himself as "the love guru").

"You have to score on this, boy. You might never get another girl like her ever again." Nanjiro smirked.

"You mean a quiet girl?" Ryoma asked. His face paled at the thought of one of his extreme fans, Tomoka. Recently, she seemed to cool down but Ryoma thought she might be making another poster with a rose in his mouth. (_'I'm not like that monkey king…'_ Ryoma thought every time he saw that poster).

Nanjiro sighed. He wondered countless times on how Sakuno could bear with him at all. Plus, his son was such a dense, insensitive jerk when it came to love. Nanjiro was surprised Sakuno didn't smack him and say that she despised Ryoma.

"Listen, boy," Nanjiro started. Ryoma sat calmly drinking his favorite grape ponta while looking at the TV (watching tennis of course). "Girls are different than you. They are so emotional and cute. They are more sensitive and…they look especially cute when certain parts are—…hey! Where are you going!? I haven't told you the good part!" Nanjiro complained like a kid as Ryoma walked upstairs.

"I don't want to listen to your crap about how a man should feel about a woman." Ryoma glared before heading to his room.

'_Sakuno is not like those stupid uninteresting magazines…'_ Ryoma thought.

No, Sakuno was pure and plain. No one would even think to look twice at her because only he had that privilege. Only he could be the closest person to Sakuno. He had, after all, peaked out some interest in her.

Other than that, Ryoma's mom has been complaining about Nanjiro and his magazines. Those magazines…it wouldn't hurt Nanjiro if he took one…

--

Sakuno paced around her room and panicked. It was horrible, it was tragic, but most of all, it would be embarrassing if she didn't choose. She was wondering what dress she should take to the dance.

There were many sets that Tomoka handed to her. Sakuno was frightened on how many there were (not to mention they were all of different…variety…)

"H-How embarrassing!" Sakuno blushed at the sexy black dress. It was strapless and the length was short. Plus, near the chest area, it showed off the figure and shape very well. "Tomo-chan, you idiot! T-This is too much!" Sakuno wailed and discarded the dress to the side; she didn't have the confidence to wear it.

KNOCK

"Sakuno, what's wrong!?" Her grandmother asked from the other end of the door.

"N-Nothing!" Sakuno blurted, quickly burying the black dress under a mix of her dirty clothes.

Sakuno looked at her options. There was a cute pink dress, oh, but the length was a bit short. Sakuno looked at the white one next to it. It was pretty but a bit old-fashioned. "It looks cute!" Sakuno smiled as she stared at herself in the mirror with the dress in front of her.

The dress was perfect!

--

Ryoma was beyond annoyed. It was the day of the dance and he wouldn't stop being _harassed_ by his father. His mother was bothering him a little but that was different. He liked his mother ten times more than Nanjiro. But for just a bit, Ryoma didn't like how his mother forced him to wear a tux. He planned to go with his own tennis clothes (_'much more comfortable than a suit the monkey king would wear,'_ he thought).

Yet there he was, looking pretty good in a tux, and not a single sportswear on him. Ryoma, however, managed to keep his cap hidden (at least he could still wear the cap!).

"Make sure to give her a big smooch to show your affections!" Nanjiro called out as Ryoma angrily walked away.

"He's growing up so fast. Rinko! Our stupid son might finally score!" Nanjiro grinned.

"And exactly _what_ will he score?" A cold voice came from behind Nanjiro. Nanjiro shivered and flinched. He could recognize the…err…sweet voice of his wonderful wife.

"R-Rinko, Of course I meant he will finally get a girlfriend. That guy is as cold as a fish you know." Nanjiro escaped.

Rinko sighed and stared at the spot where Ryoma left. "He's not that cold or else he wouldn't go." She whispered.

She didn't know that Ryoma's supply of ponta just got bigger because of a certain deal.

--

How frustrating. The food disappeared faster than they came. It was unacceptable, just who was put in charge of the food?

"Oi, Michi-san!" Katou called out for one of the student council members. The girl, Michi, walked towards Katou.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Michi, it's bad, we're running out of food. Have a stock of food ready _now_." Katou ordered. "Oh, and if there is 40% of food gone, restock quickly." Katou added.

The dance was probably very stressful for people who weren't partaking in it. Katou noticed that Tezuka was especially strict about the dance—everyone wearing less revealing clothes, music should be traditional, and don't get Katou started on how Tezuka thought they would dance.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), Tezuka was overturned. The others complained that he was too old-fashioned and needed to be loose. Tezuka didn't budge so they tried to come to an agreement (_'lucky that most of them opposed Kunimitsu because one person wouldn't be enough,' _thought Katou).

But even in this hectic night, there was one thing she wanted to leave for the regulars, especially the third years. She wanted the night to be great for them even though she sacrificed her chance to go with Tezuka herself.

Katou stood at the corner and watched as the music changed from wild to a slow song. She smiled as some of the couples danced awkwardly, or seemed really into it. She smiled but looked around to find a particular couple…

AH…Katou found them. They were…sitting down!?

Ryoma kept eating food from the table. And Sakuno sat at the other end, playing with the hem of her dress. Katou guessed that Sakuno tried to think of something to say. Katou sighed; she didn't have time to deal with them. _'I'll be back,'_ she thought, glaring at Ryoma.

Luckily, the gang was there. They noticed that Ryoma and Sakuno weren't progressing at all! Eiji, Momoshiro, Fuji, Emi, and Yumi plotted together. Sakamoto and Inui observed from afar (just for data purposes of course).

Yumi walked up to Sakuno and Ryoma with a huge grin. She would follow the plan Fuji deviously produced. "Why aren't you two dancing?" She asked.

"I don't feel like it." That was Ryoma's quick reply. Sakuno's face displayed slight disappointment.

"Eh…? I thought the great Echizen Ryoma could dance here unless you think you're too good…" Yumi commented. Ryoma smirked. "Or maybe you just don't know how to dance." Yumi added. Ryoma's eyes widened. Did Yumi just…_challenge_ him?

"I can dance better than you." Ryoma retorted once he recovered (which didn't take too long).

"I haven't even seen you dance. You might just be bluffing." Yumi grinned. Fuji's planned worked out pretty well.

Ryoma stood up, determination brewing inside of him. No one was going to talk to him like that. And even if they did, he was going to prove them wrong. "Come on, Sakuno." He said, walked to the dance floor. Sakuno obeyed and followed Ryoma.

Ryoma positioned himself correctly (from the videos about dancing he saw before). Sakuno blushed when he placed his arm around her waist and held her hand. She mentally screamed in her head (very happy thoughts too) but the feeling faded away when the song changed.

The song was fast paced; Ryoma went even quicker than the tempo as if to prove he was better than the song. Sakuno unwillingly had to keep up. Her best dance was the slow dance because of its pace. She had wanted to dance with Ryoma slowly but that little fantasy crumbled as she twisted, turned, and spun.

When the song was finally over, Sakuno panted. She felt lucky to even survive. Everyone else formed a circle around the two and clapped at the amazing performance Ryoma, not Sakuno, did. Sakuno felt very sad, all her hard work…only to be overshadowed by the one she likes.

Tears began to form. Of course, Ryoma didn't notice because he shot a look of triumph to Yumi. Yumi just stared at Ryoma. She was more concerned about Sakuno than the 'challenge'.

"RYOMA, YOU IDIOT!" Sakuno wailed and ran away.

Ryoma was taken aback. Sakuno had been quiet most of the year (with the exception of the look she had when playing tennis). He hadn't heard that yell since middle school.

"Ryoma, how could you be so mean to such a cute girl!?" Emi dramatically exclaimed. She had a tissue in her hand for her sniffs. Ooh, how sad and _angry_ she must be for you to use her just because you couldn't stand being a loser. What a selfish boy!" Emi just ticked off Ryoma.

"Echizen, you shouldn't make girls cry especially since that's Ryuzaki's granddaughter." Fuji added.

Ryoma's face paled. Oh no, not Ryuzaki sensei. She would annihilate him. Ryoma put on his best stoic face and said, "I'm going to get some ponta." He declared and then left.

"WHAT!? He's not going to apologize!?" Yumi exclaimed.

Whispers and murmurs could be heard, such a juicy story will be a hot gossip for a long while. Yes, the highlight would be 'Echizen, the greatest tennis player, actually made a girl, his best friend, angry'.

"BREAK IT UP!" Katou hollered into the microphone. Most of the students flinched. "Do you want this night to end?" She asked.

They all shook their heads violently. They wanted to stay longer because well, they were having fun and maybe, just maybe, something crazier might happen, they all hoped.

"Well then start dancing!" Katou gestured for the DJ to continue with the music.

The whole room was filled with loud beats, hard taps, and laughter. Katou somehow restored the flow. She walked down the stage and next to the corner. Tezuka walked over to her so he could praise her. He was about to do the same thing but he would have ended the party right then and there. Luckily Katou got there first.

"Ka…" Tezuka didn't finish because he clearly saw just how tired Katou was—bags under her eyes, paler skin, and a distant, dead look.

"Katou," He called out.

Katou broke out of her trance and then stared at Tezuka. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?" she asked.

"Infirmary, now," He said. Katou was about to protest but Tezuka had an aura around him, one that looked like he wasn't going to be opposed at all.

"Right…" Katou agreed in defeat. She dragged her feet to the infirmary.

"It seems as though you really care about your special friend." Fuji smiled broadly.

"You would've done the same." Tezuka replied, looking over at the food, more people were dancing rather than eating.

"I would've said different words. You seemed to say it so passionately…are you sure she didn't confess her undying love to you?" Fuji's face clearly showed his excitement for information about the subject.

In the end, Tezuka just ignored Fuji but kept a mental note to check in on Katou later.

Sakuno was sobbing at the outside of school. She couldn't believe it, her performance, her hard work, and determination…all crumbled. "I knew it." She pouted. "Ryoma's always better than me."

She stopped crying for a moment to gaze at the stars above. Sakuno lost all thoughts when looking at the sky since its beauty captivated her and soothed her worries and frustrations. She felt calm.

That moment shattered when something cold pressed against her cheek. She jumped and turned around. It was Ryoma holding up a cherry flavored ponta. "That face looks weird." He commented.

"It's your fault!" she planned to say but the words never found their way out of her mouth. She just accepted the ponta and drank it.

Silence walked between the two. Neither wanted to talk or had nothing to say. Ryoma was never a person you would turn to for comfort (it would be better to go to Oishi for that). He didn't really understand relationships with friends. At least with tennis, everything was easy.

"Hey, Ryoma…?" Sakuno called out. Ryoma nodded at her before she continued. "D-Do…never mind…" she dismissed her thought quickly.

Ryoma stared at her and suddenly remembered something his father had said earlier: _Don't be such a wuss, just confess in your own way if you're too chicken to say it straight out._

The memory annoyed him but there was some significance to that. "Ne, Sakuno." Ryoma ruffled through his pockets. Sakuno faced him and her curiosity took over. Was he going to give her a flower and confess? Oh wait…it was Ryoma, there'd be no way.

Something dropped over Sakuno's head; she patted it and then recognized it even in the dark. It was Ryoma's favorite cap.

"Return that to me when I come back." He said.

"Eh?" Sakuno wondered what he meant.

"Just keep it for tonight and return it when you see me." He replied.

For the rest of the night, the two sat next to each other without speaking a single word since it wasn't necessary.

But tomorrow would be a new day, the day where the new captain is announced.

**A/N: **and the next chapter will be the last. Hope you enjoyed it and please review ^^

**SPECIAL NOTE:** I think I'm going to make something that is…a sequel to this one. Just put me under author alert so you won't have to keep checking back all the time.


	16. END: Patience

**Aqua says: **Enjoy the chapter!

**E**: I can't believe no one noticed this except one reviewer. Natsume is a 3rd year…hehe, she can't be vice-captain…sorry! (I forgot about that. School made me forget a few details about my favorite fic!) Anyway, a chapter was edited and so was this one.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own POT

* * *

Squeaks of shoes and quick ruffling of clothes sounded throughout the girls' tennis locker room. It was a fast change from morning practice. All of the girls wanted to hear which person would be the next captain. Unfortunately, the announcements start in the afternoon which disappointed some people.

Katou showed no particular like towards anyone the whole day, she talked to everyone normally or strictly, even to her own friends. Most of the girls were anxious but some were angry at Sakuno.

"Did you hear yesterday? I thought I heard that Ryuzaki's granddaughter, Sakuno, is going to get it." One short girl said.

"Yeah, I remember when we crawled through that window to hear. Captain said Sakuno was 'green'. They probably tried to color code it so people would get confused but I'm sure that the three main candidates were Kumiko, Nakashima, and Ryuzaki. It seems as though Ryuzaki passed." Another pointed out.

"And then there's the vice captain to think about. She said that Kumiko was gold and Nakashima was silver so that means Kumiko is the next vice captain right?" Another added.

"That's not fair! They kept hogging all the regular positions and Ryuzaki is a bad freshman anyway!" One snapped.

"Maybe if Ryuzaki got into an accident and one of us rises to the occasion then one will become captain!"

"Right!" the other two agreed.

Then they begin their quest to torture poor Sakuno.

Sakuno hid behind a bookshelf, staring at the librarian timidly. She wanted to ask her something but her courage diminished whenever she thought of him.

Ryoma was a library helper or assistant but he didn't go to his classes (at least the ones she had with him) and she couldn't find him anywhere in the library. Just what was going on with that boy?

"Is there something wrong?" a small alto-sounding voice came from behind Sakuno. The smaller girl jumped with surprise, causing books to fall and an abundant amount of apologies.

"Sakuno, did you forget that they are announcing who's the next captain? Come on." Usio dragged Sakuno out of the library.

"O-Okay! Can I just use the restroom first?" Sakuno asked?

Usio nodded and left Sakuno.

Sakuno walked back to the library to check up on Ryoma. Maybe he was just running late. As she reached the library, something bumped her head.

Then everything went black.

"Uh…" Sakuno groggily got up and looked around, dazed. She seemed to be in the "office" room where Katou, Sakamoto, and Emi usually go to for work.

Sakuno helped herself up and then fell back down. "OW!" She shrieked. Her legs suddenly shot out a burst of pain as if she just got stabbed with a knife. She peered at her legs and arms to find bruises. Sakuno gasped. Was she going to be…raped!?

Sakuno looked around, paranoid. There was no one around, all empty and abandoned.

"Hey…get everyone together…"

Sakuno heard distinct sounds of voices. Then she banged on the door. "HELP, PLEASE!" She yelled. Everything was dark and silent. Sakuno stood at the corner, took deep breaths, and then told herself that someone would have to come by.

One single sign of hope appeared, the door clicked opened. Someone opened the door, a second year girl that was in the tennis club.

"R-Ryuzaki…? What are you doing here?" The second year asked.

"Err…long story…?"Sakuno hid her bruises.

"Well, we have to hurry, practice is almost over. The captain is announcing who will be the next captain and vice-captain."

"Okay." Sakuno followed, keeping most of her arms and legs hidden (which was hard to do since she was wearing her school uniform).

Once they arrived to the courts, the freshmen were cleaning up while the other lined up to hear the announcements. Sakuno left the second year and helped clean up, she was after all a freshman too.

"Alright everyone, listen up. I'm going to announce the captain and the vice-captain." Katou lifted up her clipboard.

Everyone was anxious to hear. Sakuno waited with bated breath. She was so close. Maybe it would be her and then…and then she could tell Ryoma. Then maybe he would finally see her for real.

The three girls who locked Sakuno up were right behind her. They muttered curses under their breaths. They would get Sakuno next time before Katou graduates and leaves so she could make one of them captain.

"The captain is Kumiko Usio…" Katou informed. People muttered like bees in a hive. Usio didn't look happy, in fact, she looked annoyed.

"What's with that face? You should be happy." Natsume stuck out her tongue.

The other's murmurs got louder. Wasn't Sakuno supposed to be captain? Maybe she was only a freshman so they gave it to Usio. So then…Sakuno would be vice captain…right?

"QUIET DOWN." Katou hollered over the noise. She was tired of all this drama they were causing. "And the vice captain will be Nakashima Airi." She gave the clip board to Sakamoto. "No questions asked, dismissed." She added.

Airi stood there, surprised. She lowered her head when Katou announced that she was the vice-captain. "B-But…! I thought Sakuno…!" Natsume exclaimed. Airi and Usio followed Katou.

Sakuno was left all alone as the others left. They were all sure Sakuno would get one of those positions. The three girls suddenly felt very guilty and scared. "But Captain said Sakuno was green!" one hissed.

"Shush! It's one of those color-code things, they tried to trick us." The girls all walked away from Sakuno as if they were innocent and did nothing.

Sakuno's knees fell weak and then she slumped down. "I thought it would be me." Sakuno sniffed.

Then for the first time in a long while, Sakuno cried.

Afterschool, Katou knew it was going to happen. She knew they would question her.

"I fail to see how I would make a good captain. I can't stand some people." Usio said.

"Captain, why didn't you pick Sakuno-chan?" Airi asked.

Katou stomped her foot on the ground for control. "We won the nationals. It was Sakuno's first time winning but this year, all the strong tennis players graduated. Sakuno finally beat people who were a bit above average. You guys knew and that's why the matches were pretty easy."

"But Sakuno could get better." Airi argued. Usio put her hand on Airi's shoulder.

"That girl never played until middle school. All the guys from the regular team, at least the ones with amazing skills have been playing since they were little. No matter how much Sakuno tries, she will always be a little behind." Usio let go and turned her back. "I don't want to take the position of Captain."

"You have to. You have the best understanding of all regulars, even normal people. You'll grow as a captain." Katou explained.

"And what about Sakuno," Airi asked. She defended Sakuno with such passion maybe because…she found something in Sakuno._ 'That girl tries hard…'_ Airi thought.

"She's not ready. The next year…in the next year, most of us will be gone and that's when she'll really be on her own." Katou walked away.

Airi lowered her head. In this whole year, she did nothing. All she ever did was get involved with romance when she should've been helping out Sakuno. "If…If we train Sakuno to be one of the best and win the nationals, will it be alright!?" Airi hollered a question but by then, Katou was already gone.

"Calm down, Airi." Usio patted Airi's head (she had to tip-toe). Airi simply stared. Usio never tried to comfort people.

"I know what you're thinking. We should train Sakuno…and then captain won't have any complaints." Usio began walking. Airi touched her head, smiled, and followed Usio.

Katou was right when she chose Usio as captain.

Sakuno sighed. She clutched onto Ryoma's hat and stared at it then hugged it. "I…didn't get that position…I sort of knew it but…I still thought that it would be me." Sakuno sniffed.

She gazed at the hat, mind filled with memories of Ryoma. Then when a cat jumped on her legs, she returned to reality. The cat grabbed the hat and sprinted away. Sakuno gasped and dashed after the cat. By the time she reached it and retried the cap, the cat was already bored. It reminded Sakuno of Ryoma.

"Ah! W-Wait, I can't be crying! I need to return this to Ryoma!" Sakuno ran again. She was sure Ryoma was just sick at home so she ran.

And kept running…

And running…

And now lost…

Lost without a map…

Sakuno and her way of directions…

Sakuno nervously looked from left to right. She noticed a car, a small but smooth black car, stopped right in front of her. The windows rolled down to reveal her upperclassman, Sakamoto. Sakuno gasped and wore Ryoma's hat to hide her red and slightly puffy eyes.

"Sakuno, get on." Sakuno nodded and went into Sakamoto's car. She had someone else driving, a young man with a cheery smile.

"Where to, miss?" He asked.

"Airport in less than five minutes, got it?" Sakamoto ordered. The driver nodded his head and started the car. Sakuno looked at Sakamoto and opened her mouth, "U-Um, why are we going to the airport?" she asked.

"Echizen's leaving today."

Sakuno fought for her breath. She dashed though the door of Sakamoto's car just to find him. Through the whole crowd, she couldn't see a boy with cat-like eyes and black hair with a green-ish tint.

Sakuno took a death breath and, "RYOMA!" She shouted.

"You talk too loud." A voice came from behind her. Sakuno turned around and then saw…him.

"Ryoma…" she took off her hat and held it out for him. "Why…why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" She asked, voice cracking.

Ryoma never touched his cap. "I did tell you. I said…" Ryoma walked past her, picking up the cap and then placed it on her head, "Give me that the next time we meet."

Sakuno touched the cap, her expression filled with shock. That was what he meant.

"But I might not come back." He said, "So there's no point in wa-…"

"I'LL WAIT!" Hot tears streamed down her face. She wiped them away. Ryoma turned back to look at her.

"I'll wait…" She said in a quieter voice _'I've waiting for so long anyway.'_

Ryoma scratched his cheek and then remembered something that his father told him: when you make a girl cry, you should DIE! You have to make sure the girl smiles again so you kiss her!

It was such a stupid thing to listen to but…

"Ne, Sakuno," He pulled her cap lower. "A girl looks ugly when she cries, you look better when your face doesn't look like that…"

He headed off. "And I did say: give me that cap when you see me again."

Then he left. Sakuno took off her cap and hugged it. "We will, we will meet again."

And maybe they will meet again.

* * *

**Epilogue: (1 year later)**

* * *

"Hey, Usio, it's that time again. We'll have to compete. I hear the competition is tough." A girl with short brown hair handed apple juice to a girl with blue hair tied in a French braid. Usio grabbed the juice with her left hand while drawing.

"Right, we need to pick the new regulars." She said.

"And…_and_ Sakuno's real training begins!" Airi smiled excitedly. Usio smiled.

"I wonder…" She began.

"What…?"

"Captain," A girl in a single braid with brown hair and auburn eyes walked towards the two.

"Wow, she's here…" Airi muttered. Usio continued drawing.

"Sakuno, it's time for the real tournaments. Are you ready for your real training?" Usio asked.

"Yes!" She replied with a strong tone (something she copied from Tezuka just to look more like a respectable figure)

"Okay." Usio walked away without another word. Airi stayed behind to whisper to Sakuno something good.

"She's really happy. She wants to try out to be a tough but cool captain." Airi grinned. "Oh, and the others are going for a little reunion 'via sleepovers' arranged by Sakamoto. Are you coming?"

Sakuno nodded. She was excited. Airi walked away, waving good-bye to Sakuno.

Sakuno stared at the courts and imagined the first time she saw him play. She imagined all the other times he's played and in those moments, a new Sakuno was born.

"Without you, my life wouldn't have been this way. Even though you're not here…" She spoke, staring at the beautiful sunset, "Maybe…we'll meet again."

She put back on her cap.

* * *

**A/N: **Sadly…it's the end…

Thank you for all the reviews.

**Edit**: I apologize. I promised another sequel but I can't write my OC characters the same way anymore. Please don't get your hopes up too much but I'm thinking I _**might**_ (please notice the heavy emphasis) put up a new story called "Lizard Skins".


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